


In the Jaws of The Maw

by SpacedustAndBoxes



Category: Little Nightmares (Video Game)
Genre: Blood, Cannibalism, Canon-Typical Violence, Danger, Death, Demonic Possession, F/M, Fighting, Starvation, Violence, takes place before and during the events of the game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 20:00:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 24,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19979677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpacedustAndBoxes/pseuds/SpacedustAndBoxes
Summary: All stories have to start somewhere, and this one starts here, in the belly of the vessel known as The Maw, a place of chaos and madness. In the midst of this madness, there is a girl called Six, and boy called Seven. They are mere children, but when subjected to the horrors of The Maw, they mature quickly. Once innocent, these young ones now come face to face with death, greed, and... love?(Personal interpretation of Little Nightmares world and backstory.  All chapters are 1000+ words.)





	1. A Yellow Raincoat

The beds were lined up in the middle of the room. Like everything else, they were bigger than the children. But that didn't matter. Among the sleeping kids, a yellow raincoat stuck out like a sore thumb. Her long, black bangs almost completely obscured her eyes as she slowly sat up, blinking away the fogginess of sleep, and looked around at her surroundings. Where was she? Nothing was familiar, yet as she searched her mind she found nothing else to compare it to. Though she could recall some things, like what a wall was, or a bed, or things like that, her mind was absent of anything personal or unique. In fact, while she knew she ought to have a name, she didn't remember it. She wasn't even sure she had one.

The girl in the raincoat was not the only one awake. Other children were beginning to sit up, rub their eyes, and murmur to themselves and to each other. The child in the bed next to her caught her eye. Unlike her, his clothes were less vibrant. His hair was a fair brown, and just a little shaggy. He looked at her with shiny blue eyes, and grinned as he moved to sit on the edge of his bed.

"Hiya!" His voice was cheerful despite the circumstances.

"Hello." The girl's voice was softer, and more reserved. In spite of the lack of memories, a shy personality persisted. Still, she moved so she was sitting on the edge of her bed as well, facing him.

The boy giggled. "Nice jacket."

"Thanks..."

The door on the other side of the room creaked open, and suddenly all conversation ceased. A strange figure entered. He was far larger than the children, and had arms that were almost twice the length of his body. His head was misshapen, and something, either skin or bandages, covered his eyes. He bore a name tag that read "Roger". The kids murmured among themselves nervously, afraid of this bizarre man.

"One." He touched the first bed, closest to the door. He continued down, counting as he went. By the time he reached the girl in the raincoat, he was at "Six."

The boy in the blue was, of course, next.

"Seven."

The boy chuckled as Roger continued numbering the kids. There was a lot of them, but he and the girl were no longer paying attention.

"I'm Seven," he said jokingly to the girl. "Pleased to meet you."

The girl giggled. "I guess that makes me Six?"

Seven nodded and offered his hand.

Six shook his hand enthusiastically, a playful nature cutting through her shyness as they both laughed.

"We're friends now," Seven declared.

Six smiled. "Okay. Friends."

Seven grinned.

Six couldn't help but smile back. His happiness was infectious, and caused a strange fluttery feeling deep inside her that she couldn't quite describe. Something that made her giggle, and her cheeks just barely tint pink.

Seven felt his cheeks heat slightly as well as a bubbly giggle escaped Six. It felt good to make Six laugh. Good in a way that he didn't quite understand. But he was glad he'd been able to make her happy. Unfortunately, that was the moment he realized he hadn't let go after their handshake. His face flushed lightly as he quickly pulled away.

"Sorry!"

Six smiled at him. "It's okay."

"Uh... your hands are soft."

Six laughed, and once again the sound made Seven grin.

 _This is my job now,_ he thought. _Making her happy. It feels so good to see her smile._

Was it a selfish goal? Yes. But Seven figured that making someone else happy couldn't be _that_ bad of a thing to do, even if he was only doing it because he liked seeing her smile and hearing her laugh. He couldn't help that it felt amazing.

Six was already starting to enjoy Seven's company. His cheerful presence was enough to calm how unsettled she'd originally felt about this place, and she could almost say she felt safer with him as her friend.

"Hey, Seven?" Six's voice was now tinted with curiosity.

"Yeah?"

"Where are we?"

"I have no idea," Seven admitted as he looked around. "I don't really remember anything."

"I don't either," Six told him. "But I don't see that guy, or whatever he was. The one that gave us the numbers."

Seven nodded. "I think he left."

"We should explore."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Six smirked. "Chicken."

Seven's eyes widened slightly at the insult. "What? No! I'm not-!"

Six began to cluck teasingly. Clearly the lack of personal memories did not mean the children had forgotten what a chicken was.

Seven huffed. "Fine. Let's go explore then."

Six grinned smugly as she jumped off her bed. "Let's go."

Seven begrudgingly followed her, though he was secretly amused by her antics. It wasn't hard to keep track of Six. Her yellow raincoat made her easy to spot. Still, Seven didn't let her get too far ahead. He wasn't sure how the other kids would treat her. Or him, for that matter. Six was the only person here he knew, and he'd only met her a few minutes ago. Still, he couldn't deny that something about her was oddly familiar.

Inspired by Six and Seven's daring, other kids began to get up and wander around as well. But Six ignored them. Her main goal right now was finding out the limits of the room, and if there was possibly a way out. The more she knew about where they were, the better.

 _I have a bad feeling about this place,_ she thought. _Something just isn't right. Where even are we?_

She didn't dare say these thoughts out loud. That was just asking for trouble. Though, she considered telling Seven about them later, if there was a time she was less concerned about someone overhearing them. Even though she'd only known Seven for a short time, she felt she could trust him.

 _That's what friends do, right?_ She thought. _Trust each other?_

She pushed her thoughts of Seven and friendship aside temporarily as she followed the walls of the large room they were in. Looking around, she could see toys scattered throughout the room. A lot of it was oddly-sized, with most things being much bigger than the children were used to. There were also books, though reading was the last thing on Six's mind right now. At her age, it wasn't much of an interest for her.

 _What is my age?_ Six wondered. But, try as she might, she couldn't remember. So she resolved to once again ignore her questions about herself, and instead focus on her questions about this place, and the objects in it.

"Hey!" A voice called behind her.

Six turned around to see Seven trotting up behind her. She looked at him questioningly.

"Sorry," mumbled Seven. "I got distracted by the toy train."

Six giggled. "Seriously?"

"What?" Seven huffed. "It's cool!"

"Aren't you curious though? This place is so weird..."

Seven nodded. "And big. It's like whoever built it was expecting us to be bigger."

"Did you see how big that noodle arms guy was? Maybe they expected us to be more like him?"

"Maybe." Seven shrugged. "Does it really matter?"

"Yes! The more we know about this place, the safer we'll be."

"You think so?"

"I know so. And even if I'm wrong, I still need to know more! Why is this place so weird? Why can't we remember?"

"Why can't we just stick with the others?" Seven countered.

Six's argument was to start making chicken noises again, and Seven rolled his eyes.

"I'm not scared! I just-" Seven barely managed to stop himself before he said the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

_I don't want you to get hurt._

That made sense, didn't it? Six was his friend. It wasn't weird to say that. But at the same time, it was. No matter how much she made him smile, and how familiar she seemed, Six was still technically a stranger. But so was he. He didn't know anything about himself. He assumed no one did.

"Hey! Earth to Sev!" Six waved a hand in front of his face, making Seven realize he'd gotten lost in his thoughts.

"Sorry."

Six giggled. "It's fine, silly. Come on, let's keep exploring."

Seven nodded, keeping pace with Six as she began to walk again, running one hand along the wall. Seven kept an eye on her, and soon noticed something silver and shiny on the wall.

"Six-"

Seven's warning came too late, as Six's hand brushed the electrified bars designed to keep them from sneaking into other parts of the nursery. Six cried out in pain and Seven was filed with a sense of dread. All eyes were on them now.

Six was hurt.

He'd let Six get hurt.


	2. Bad Feeling

Seven was momentarily frozen in fear. His thoughts were going a mile a minute.

 _This is my fault. I should have warned her. I should have watched better... I bet she hates me now._

Seven's brief moment of panic kept him occupied as the door at the far side of the nursery opened and Roger came in. The long-armed man felt his way across the room to Six, who was very small in comparison to him. The tiny girl was still twitching slightly from being shocked. Fortunately, the jolt had caused her to quickly pull away from the electrified bars. Had she grabbed one of the bars instead of simply brushing against it, the situation would have been far worse.

Roger picked up the little girl, holding her up with one hand. Six tensed as the corpse-like fingers of the opposite hand inspected her.

"Just a burn," the blind man grunted. "You'll be fine. Coulda been worse."

And with that, he lumbered out of the room, leaving Six to slowly stop twitching on her own as she inspected the burn on her hand.

Seven had now managed to shake off the surprise that had paralyzed him, and rushed to Six.

"Are you okay?!"

"I'm fi-"

"This is all my fault!" Seven interrupted, his concern making him talk quickly and impatiently. "I should have seen it."

"Seven-"

"I'm so sorry Six. You're okay, right? Right?"

Six giggled at her friend's anxious rant. "Seven, relax. I'm fine." She showed him the burns on her fingertips and palm. "It's nothing. See?"

Seven frowned. "That looked like it hurt though..."

"It did." Six was strangely calm. "But it doesn't matter. Now I know not to touch that. We all know, right?"

She looked around at the other children, whose expressions bore a mix of concern, confusion, and even annoyance. They nodded at her question before beginning to disperse, now that something interesting had happened, it was easier to explore the nursery and talk among themselves.

Seven looked at Six. "I'm sorry..."

Six sighed. "Seven, it's not your fault. If anything, it was my fault. I was being careless."

Seven went quiet for a moment, which Six took as the end of the discussion. She continued her exploration of the perimeter, being more watchful of her surroundings. She was pleased to notice Seven had followed, but was a little concerned by the boy's silence. When Seven spoke again, his voice was almost timid.

"Six...?"

Six stopped, looking at him. "Yeah?"

"I... Um..." The boy hesitated for a moment before sighing. "We're still friends, right?"

Six frowned. _Is he serious?!_

She started laughing. While Seven did like her laughter, he was afraid that she was laughing for the wrong reasons this time. He took a step back. 

"Is that a no...?"

Six shook her head, going to Seven and hugging him. "Seven, you worry too much. Of _course_ we're still friends!"

All at once, Seven felt his fears dissolve as quickly as they appeared. He hugged Six, and that feeling he'd had earlier returned. The one he couldn't quite explain. The one that had made him want to stick with Six in the first place.

Six let go after a moment. "Now come on, there's more to explore and we certainly won't get it done by freaking out."

Seven made an odd gesture with his head that was halfway between a shrug and a nod, and then followed Six as she continued to walk.

It wasn't long before they were following the back wall of the nursery. The other children were mostly clustered near the middle, where the toys were. That wasn't surprising, and Six felt they were sufficiently alone. She turned to Seven.

"Something isn't right."

Seven frowned. "What do you mean?"

"This place. These kids. Do any of us remember _anything_ important?"

"Well... I mean... I think most of us remember what things are..."

Six scowled. "Not that. I said anything _important_. Like our names? Or where we came from? Seven, think about it. Do you even know how old you are?"

"I'm..." Seven trailed off, searching his memory. He knew that he should know. He should know his name, his real name, not the number. He should know how old he was. But there was nothing, aside from what had happened since he'd woken up here. He had knowledge, but no personal memories.

"So you don't know," Six concluded. "And I bet the others don't either. I bet none of us remember anything."

Seven nodded. "Okay, but why is that important?"

Six's voice dropped to a whisper. "Don't you feel it? This is a bad place, Seven. Something isn't right. And I want to find out what."

Seven was amazed by Six's daring. It hadn't been long since they'd woke, and already Six was not only completely sure that something was wrong here, but she was brave enough to say that she would be the one to find out what it was. Seven didn't have that kind of bravery, but he was sure of one thing.

"I'm with you. I have no idea what's going on but if you think we can figure it out, then I'll do whatever I can to help you."

 _And protect you,_ he added silently. If there was one thing Seven wouldn't stand for, it was letting something happen to his new friend, seemingly his only friend, again. _I won't be too late next time. And I won't freeze either._

Six smiled, unaware of Seven's silent promises to himself. "Thanks, Sev."

"That's what friends are for, right?"

The words shouldn't have meant too much, but Seven's support make Six feel like maybe there was some hope. She was scared of this place, and what it all meant, but she couldn't shake the feeling that with Seven on her side... maybe she could figure it out.

She smiled. "You're the best."

Seven felt a little flutter of joy inside at her words.

_She said I'm the best!_ He was unsure why that was so exciting, but it made him happy.

The far door creaked open, and Roger stumbled in.

"Everyone over here," he grumbled. "Line up."

The children did as they were told, lining up in a row. Six was a little reluctant, as she wanted to continue exploring the nursery, but after a moment, she realized that was what everyone was doing. If she didn't join them, it could mean trouble.

_Besides,_ she thought, _Seven might be upset if I keep exploring without him. He said he'd stick with me. So I should stick with him too, right?_

She quickly caught up with Seven, smiling at the realization that he'd stopped and waited when he'd realized she hadn't followed right away. Now that the kids were all crowded together, she felt a little nervous. Exploring new things was one thing, but other people were something else entirely, and she didn't like it. 

Seven noticed her hesitance.

"Hey, it's alright Six," he told her softly. "They're like us, remember?"

Six nodded slightly. "Like us... right..."

Seven smiled reassuringly, and was happy to see Six at least try to smile back. She may have been shy, but there was no denying that she was brave.

Roger huffed, nudging the children into a straight line with his long arms, and taking a moment to count them before herding them like sheep into the next room, which appeared to be a cafeteria of sorts.

Six looked around quietly, just now realizing how hungry she was. It was an uncomfortable feeling, and hurt a little. She frowned and scoured her limited memories. Being hungry wasn't supposed to hurt, was it?

She shook her head and shrugged off the feeling. It wasn't bad, just a little bit uncomfortable.

_It looks like we might be eating soon anyway,_ she told herself. _I shouldn't think about it too much._

Over the next few minutes, the children were told to sit at the too-large tables, and were given portions of food. The meal consisted only of bread, and some kind of sausage. Seven couldn't help but notice a strange, almost metallic taste as he bit into his. For a moment, he wondered if he'd bitten his tongue, as the taste reminded him of blood.

Six, on the other hand, had no problem at all with the taste of the meat. Something about it was almost... sweet. No, more than that. Oddly satisfying. As if she'd been given something she'd never been allowed to have before. 

She noticed Seven's odd expression. "What's the matter?"

"Doesn't the meat taste funny to you?" Seven asked with a frown.

"No. Actually, I like it," she admitted.

Seven shrugged. "I don't know. It just tastes weird to me. Maybe it's just in my head."

"Maybe," Six agreed. "I mean, a lot has happened."

He nodded. "Whatever. I guess it's better than nothing.

Six nodded. "You'll probably get used to it."

 _It's probably just in my head,_ thought Seven, _but all the same, something about this just feels so... wrong. Maybe that's just because it's gross._ He forced himself to decide that it didn't matter.

Roger stayed with the children, leaning against the door. There was another door, one that led other places, but that one was locked. He listened to the idle chatter of the children, feeling somewhat bored. Still, he waited until he could no longer catch the scent of the bread and familiar meat. Once he realized the children were finished, he simply herded them back into the nursery.

 _I wonder what these ones are for._ The thought lingered in his head momentarily, and he quickly suppressed it. _Doesn't matter. Work is work. For all I care, they may as well be sheep._ That was how he tried to think of them. They were the sheep, and he was a shepherd, of sorts. He got them to where they were supposed to be, and kept them there, and he'd keep them alive until... otherwise. He didn't need to know or care what came after that. 


	3. A Lingering Sense of Dread

Time crept by slowly, with no way for the children to keep track aside from the schedule Roger kept them on. Three meals, time to play, and time to sleep. Other than that, the blind man's only role was to keep the children from hurting themselves or each other, and even that was something he only put half an effort into.

As the days passed, the children got to know each other. Some formed small groups of friends, for no reason other than that was who they'd decided they'd liked. Some, like Seven, could talk to and be friends with almost anyone. Some were loners, preferring to play by themselves in strange worlds their tiny minds had created.

And then there was Six.

Six wasn't like anyone, even the kids who preferred to be by themselves. When the others played, she would climb something high and watch them, or examine the nursery. Of course, none of the kids were clever enough to see that she was looking for a way out. Anyone who spoke to her was answered with a cold tone and often a sharp remark, on the rare occasion that they were even answered at all. The others were often unkind to her, and they quickly learned that she wasn't one to take such unkindness lightly. Seven was the only one who she felt she could really be herself around.

Because their beds were near each other, Six and Seven would often whisper late into the night once Roger had left. This wasn't uncommon, most of the kids would chatter until they fell asleep, but one night, weeks after the day they'd first opened their eyes in this strange place, it was different.

That night, Six had run for her life. She wasn't sure how she'd ended up in the long, dark hallway, but she didn't have time to consider it. Something was behind her. Something big, snarling, and dangerous. She couldn't stop. She couldn't breathe. As she ran, terrible images flashed ahead of her.

A room full of sacks, rope, and blood. The air was thick with the oddly satisfying scent of blood and flesh, and Six was unnerved by the sickening realization of what was inside the tied up sacks.

Seven, drowning. Desperately reaching out for something, anything, to pull himself up with. His face twisted in a horrible expression of fear. This image broke Six's heart for reasons she didn't dare consider.

A rat, that looked at her with bloodshot human eyes. A hollow fear flooding her as its disturbing gaze cut straight through to her soul. Tears of blood ran down its face.

Blood.

So much blood.

The final image was the most unsettling. A woman in a mask, humming a familiar melody in a voice that was soft and haunting. The woman slowly turned to look at Six, and beyond the eyeholes of the mask, Six could see the dark, lifeless eyes of a corpse. The mask opened into a huge mouth, fangs dripping with blood.

She woke up in a cold sweat, yelping as her nightmare abruptly ended. She gasped, trying to catch her breath, and sat up.

The sound had woken Seven, who sat up groggily and rubbed his eyes. All his remaining sleepiness quickly fell away as he realized that Six was shaking and breathing heavily.

"Six?" His voice was quiet, but full of concern. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing..." Six mumbled, her choked voice barely above a whisper.

"Don't lie. You're freaking out about something."

"...J-just a bad dream," Six admitted, trying to control the quake in her voice. 

Seven nodded in understanding, carefully getting up and going to her. He wasn't really supposed to do this, but he didn't particularly care at the moment. His best friend was upset. That was more important. He gently hugged Six.

Six tensed for a moment, but soon relaxed. His embrace was comforting, but not enough to make her uncurl from her protective ball to hug him back. Still, something about his warmth had a calming effect. A reminder that she wasn't alone.

But then, when she looked up at him, Six was suddenly reminded of the vision of him drowning. The horror of seeing him struggle before eventually failing and floating, dead.   
  
Seven. Dead. The words were so wrong together, and made Six feel uneasy.

_What would I do if I lost him? What would I do if he died? What if I could have saved him?_ A soft whimper escaped her.

Seven simply held Six and hugged tighter for a moment, unaware of the horrors that were still plaguing her mind.

"It's okay," he whispered as he let go of her. "It was only a dream. As bad as it was, it wasn't real."

Six nodded slightly, but she could still feel the paranoia, like frost spreading down her spine. She took a shaky breath.

 _Don't be silly,_ she told herself. _There's nothing to be afraid of here..._

 _Or is there,_ her conscience countered. _We know nothing about this place, other than the nursery. Nothing. For all we know, we could be in terrible danger here. This is a bad place, and bad things will happen here._

Six whimpered. With her mind going on like this, she'd never get back to sleep.

Seven sighed, wishing he knew how to calm Six down. She'd stopped shaking, but he could still see her fear. It was noticeable in the way she bit her lips, and gripped at the sleeves of her raincoat with her arms crossed over herself as if that was the only thing that could hold her together. He thought he saw a tear slip down her face from behind her long, dark bangs, but he wasn't sure.

Six felt like she was going to be sick. The lingering sense of dread still pricked at the back of her mind. She was cold, and scared, and in that moment, every single thing about her existence felt fundamentally _wrong_. A tight lump formed in the back of her throat, but she held her breath for a moment, willing it to pass.

 _I will not cry,_ she told her self. _I will not cry. I refuse to cry in front of Seven._

Seven hugged Six again, mostly because he wasn't sure how else he could comfort her, and was surprised when she finally uncurled and clung to him, rather than to her coat like she had been since she'd woken up. He decided not to say anything about it.

 _She needs someone,_ thought Seven, _and right now I have to be that someone. If I say something stupid, she might push me away and try to deal with this herself, which would mean she'd be scared all night and probably not sleep. That would be bad._

A few minutes passed like this, Six holding on to Seven like he was a lifeline. Eventually, an unspoken agreement was reached between the two. Six moved back and Seven moved forwards, onto her bed. Holding on to each other, the two lay down, and Seven let go just for a moment to pull the blanket up over them, then returned to holding Six close. Her shaky breathing slowed and evened out to match his. She could feel her fear slowly starting to dissolve.

 _I'm safe with him,_ her tired mind reasoned. _He's got my back. That what friends are for, right? He'll keep me safe._

Neither one of them considered consequences. Neither one of them stopped to question what the other kids would think if they were seen. That was a problem for tomorrow, and tomorrow was too far away to worry about. They were only concerned with here and now, and the comfort of having another person close as they fell asleep.

And Seven couldn't help but think that sleeping with Six in his arms felt really, _really_ good.


	4. Twelve

As Seven began to wake up, he could feel something warm pressed against his chest. Sleepy, he halfway opened his eyes and was surprised to see a familiar shade of yellow. It took him a moment to remember why he was holding Six, and as he woke up a little more, he realized she was still asleep. He frowned. The long-armed man would be coming to wake them up any minute.

_Will I get in trouble for sleeping with her? What if someone bugs us about it_ _?_

He considered getting up, but then he looked at Six again. The hood of her raincoat had been pushed back a bit, and her bangs had fallen to the side, so Seven could see most of her face. He smiled at her expression. She seemed so peaceful, and when she cuddled closer to him in her sleep, Seven's heart skipped a beat. In that moment, he decided not to move, because he couldn't move without waking her.

_I don't think I would if I could,_ he thought to himself. _I like being close to her like this, and she's so warm..._

A more intrusive thought poked at the back of his head. _She's cute._

Seven would normally push a thought like that away, but... right now, he couldn't really deny it. He looked at her sleeping face again, and agreed with the thought. Six was definitely very cute. In that soft moment, in the dark room, everything was perfect. Their breathing and heartbeats were in sync, and they kept each other warm. Seven was briefly tempted to close his eyes and go back to sleep.

But then, just like that, a creaky door and a beam of harsh light shattered his brief peace. Six startled awake at the noise, and Seven quickly returned to his own bed as Roger began to count the kids. Seven looked around at the others with a sigh. There was no way he hadn't been seen.

Six had been awake well before the door opened, but it was that funny kind of awake where it's impossible to find the effort and willpower needed to just open your eyes. It had been warm and calm, and it had been the first time she'd really felt safe since finding herself in this strange place. She was disappointed when Seven had left as she sat up and finally forced her eyes open, but she knew that it was safer than seeing how their caretaker would react to their closeness.

She looked over at Seven. His hair was messy from sleep, and he still seemed drowsy. She couldn't help but smile.

_He's adorable._

The thought surprised her. She'd never really seen him that way before. But now... there was no avoiding it. She'd acknowledged it, and that meant she couldn't pretend it wasn't there. She was momentarily distracted by it. He was cute, definitely. She'd thought that before, but it had always been more of a lost puppy kind of cute. Not... whatever this was. His bright blue eyes and that crooked smile that made the whole world seem just a little brighter.

Her nightmare briefly crossed her mind again, and she shuddered. In that dark dream, Seven had died. Six frowned, and mentally swore to herself that she wouldn't let it happen.

She couldn't lose Seven.

She _refused_ to lose him.

Somehow, that made her feel better. As if she could simply will for him to never die, and force it into reality. Sure, maybe that was crazy to think, but it was better than letting her fears overwhelm her.

Six glanced around at the other children. Whispers were flying around the room, and now all eyes were on her and Seven.

_Say something,_ she thought. _I dare you._

_Please don't say anything,_ thought Seven. _This place is already bad enough. I don't want anyone mad at me... Or her._

No one spoke as the kids were nudged out of bed and herded into the cafeteria. For the first time, Six noticed the bars on the far side of the cafeteria. Beyond the bars, there was a dimly lit hall. She approached curiously, wanting to get a better look. The gaps between the bars were too small even for someone her size to slip through, unfortunately. She shrugged and sat down at one of the tables near the bars. As usual, Seven sat with her. In the rapidly increasing time they'd been in this place, eating and exploring together had become routine for them.

"Thank you," Six said to him as the food was handed out.

Seven frowned. "For what?"

"For calming me down last night. I don't think I would have been able to get over that on my own."

He nodded. "I'm just glad you're feeling better. You seemed really upset."

"Yeah, it was a pretty bad nightmare..."

"Can I ask what it was about?"

Six hesitated, unsure if she was ready to relive the fading dream. After taking a moment to calm her nerves, she decided she could tell him.

"I was running from something. I was in this long, dark hallway and I was running away from something. I couldn't see it, but I knew it was bad. As I was running, I... I saw things. Terrible things. There was so much blood..." She couldn't bring herself to describe the rest to him. Especially not the image of him dying. She was trying to force herself not to think about that part. "I still felt terrified when I woke up," she concluded. "Like I was still being chased."

Seven frowned. "That sounds awful."

Six nodded. "It was..."

"Hopefully you won't have any more bad dreams. But if you do, you can always wake me up. I don't mind."

She smiled a bit. "Thanks, Seven."

"No problem." He smiled back.

Everything was fine until the children returned to the nursery. Once they were free from the watchful eyes of Roger, who would often break up any kind of fight between the children when he was aware of it, they finally went for it. Six was sitting at one of her high-up vantage points on top of a large and useless dresser, so the small group of children chose to target Seven, who was drawing in the corner of the room. They surrounded him.

"Hey, loser!"

Seven sighed. "What do you want, Twelve?"

"What were you doing with Six last night?"

One of the other kids snickered. "I bet she wasn't even awake when you joined her."

"Yeah, you're such a creep!" Another voice agreed.

Seven huffed. "She was having a nightmare. I was trying to calm her down."

"Liar," teased Twelve. "Why do you even like her anyway? She's so weird."

"Probably the only girl he'd have a chance with."

Six could see the situation unfolding from her perch. She couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but she didn't like the looks on their faces, and when she caught sight of Seven, he seemed upset. She _really_ didn't like that. She nimbly climbed down from the dresser, then calmly approached them.

"Hey!" For someone so little, she had a powerful voice. "Leave Seven alone!"

Twelve, who seemed to be the leader of the bunch, turned to her. "Why should I listen to you, weirdo?"

Six growled. "Leave. Him. Alone. _Or else_."

Twelve laughed. "Or else what? He's a pathetic little creep, and you're no better! Why don't you do us all a favour and drop dead?"

The word _dead_ echoed in Six's mind. Dead. Seven. Dead. Her nightmare came back to her, but this time she wasn't running from something. She stared Twelve down with a predatory gaze, her eyes locking with his, and she could see the fear flash across his expression in the brief moment before she attacked him.

Seven gasped as Six tackled Twelve to the ground. There was no way that should have been possible, as Six was at least two feet shorter than Twelve. Seven was immediately concerned for his friend, but he couldn't push through the crowd of kids that had quickly gathered to watch the fight. There was too much noise, and it was driving him crazy. For a few minutes, it seemed like the chaos would never stop.

And then it happened.

A sickening crack, cutting clean through the noise of the shouting kids.

A thud that could only be described as the sound of a body hitting the ground.

A high-pitched scream of terror, and the sound of the door slamming open as Roger rushed in too late.

Much too late.


	5. Dead or Alive

Seven watched in horror as Roger parted the crowd of kids, and picked up Six and Twelve. Both were completely limp and covered in blood. Seven had no idea what had happened. He was too scared to ask.   
  
The sounds he'd heard only moments ago repeated in his mind disturbingly. He glanced at where the two had been, and couldn't help but gag at the sight of all the blood on the floor.

_I hope Six is alright,_ he thought worriedly. _Please let her be alright._

No one would shut up after that. Seven tried his best to ignore the gossip. He didn't want to hear what Twelve had done to her. He just wanted Six to be okay.

A sick feeling grew in Seven's stomach. There was no sign of Six or Twelve when Roger returned to do hus duty as a janitor and clean up all the bloodstains. He was surprisingly calm, even as kids badgered him about the two he'd taken.

Roger didn't answer these questions, mostly because he didn't care to. He'd heard the fight starting, and the moment he realized someone was standing up for Seven, he'd let it happen. Roger could relate to Seven, and Twelve had needed to be taught a lesson. But Six...

 _Well, no one needs to know about that. At least, not yet. They'll find out soon enough._ He left the room with a huff, knowing no one else would question him. 

Seven felt nervous and jumpy for the rest of the day. None of the other kids bothered him, unsurprisingly, but he could feel their cold stares as he tried his best to focus on something else. _Anything_ else. Unfortunately, try as he might, he couldn't get his thoughts off of Six. That heart-stopping moment when she'd been shocked seemed like ages ago, and he'd give anything to be in that terrible moment instead of this one. At least then he'd known she was alive.

 _Roger would tell us if she died, wouldn't he?_ That question was the only thing keeping him sane. _If she's alive, she'll be back soon. I hope._

He fought back a tightness in his throat as he remembered Roger carrying her away. She hadn't been moving. It was terrifying to consider that she could be...

 _No,_ Seven told himself. _I can't think like that_. _I have to believe she'll be okay. Otherwise I won't be able to think about anything else._

Desperate to get his mind off of things, Seven went back to his drawing. Some speckles of blood had gotten onto the paper. He tried to ignore them. He tried his best to make them part of the picture, but the harder he tried, the sicker he felt, and eventually he had to give up and abandon the paper. 

Seven began to wander through the nursery. Everyone was chattering about the fight, and the little bits of conversations he heard only made him more uneasy. He tried his best to ignore it all. Still, he caught a few words. Words that stuck into him like pins. Harsh words.

Broken.

Bleeding.

Crazy.

Killed.

Those words repeated over and over in his mind, bringing back the sounds and images of the fight. Broken, and then the horrible snap that had silenced everyone. Bleeding, and the blood that had pooled on the floor and stayed there for a few minutes before Roger had come and cleaned it up. There was still a stain there. Seven didn't know he was imagining it.

Crazy... he remembered Six's expression, and the way she'd snarled when she'd said " _or else_ ". A shudder ran down his spine. That had been the first time he'd felt just a little scared of Six. She'd been really mad, but that didn't make her crazy... did it? He was starting to feel sick again.

Killed. The sound of a body hitting the floor. The way Six and Twelve had both hung limp in Roger's large hands, both either unconscious or... dead.

 _Dead._ The word repeated over and over in Seven's mind. _Dead. Six could be dead. All because I couldn't stand up for myself._

He knew exactly what Six would say to that, and a little argument began to play out in his mind. He could almost hear her voice, telling him that it wasn't his fault and not to blame himself. She'd also be annoyed at him for being so easily convinced that she was dead. That almost made him smile. Almost.

He felt a slight tug of sadness in his heart at the thought of Six. He had no idea if she was okay, or even where she was. He didn't want to believe that she was dead, but it was difficult not to. He sighed. This feeling went beyond worrying about her. He missed her. He missed her like crazy. She was the person he'd been able to tell anything. The person he'd trusted. His one close friend. And now it seemed like she was his only friend. If she was even still alive.

 _Stop it!_ He mentally scolded himself. _Thinking like this will just drive you crazy. Find something else to focus on._

Time seemed to pass extremely slowly for the rest of the day. Roger showed up, herded them into the cafeteria for lunch, and ignored all their questions. Seven found it much harder to eat than usual. Everything tasted like ash and the meat, which he could barely stomach on a good day, nearly made him throw up. He was scared. He was so scared. As much as he tried to ignore it, his questions constantly came back to haunt him.

_What if she's dead?_

He wasn't everyone's friend anymore. He was an outcast now, and that only made him feel worse. He knew they were talking about him, and Six, and the fight. He knew he'd made a mistake.

 _All I wanted was to make Six feel better. I had no idea it would lead to this crazy mess..._ There was his guilt again. _My fault. This is my fault._

Before long, the children were led into the nursery again. Seven found somewhere to curl up and hide. He didn't want to be around the others anymore. He wanted to be alone. He wanted to be with Six.

A while later, there was the loud creak of the door opening again. All eyes were on the door now. Even Seven was lured out of his hiding place by curiosity.

Roger was standing in the doorway, gently nudging an injured child into the room. Someone was returning to the nursery. Then the murmurs of dread began.

Only one child was returning to the nursery. There was no sign of the other. It wasn't hard to guess why.


	6. A Little Monster

Six was silent as she walked into the nursery. All eyes were on her. Roger had patched her up as best he could, which was surprisingly well despite him being blind and far larger than her. He clearly knew what he was doing. All the same, Six was thankful that majority of the dark bruises were hidden by her raincoat, and her hair almost completely consealed the bruise over her eye. She was a little annoyed that there was no way to really cover the small strip of plaster across the bridge of her nose, but she figured her hair covering it a little was better than nothing.

She was aware of everyone staring at her as she walked in, but she didn't particularly care about them. After a moment, she was able to pick out a blue sweater in the crowd.

The moment Seven saw Six, he was elated.  
  
_She's okay! She's alive!_

He ran to her. "Six!"

She smiled at him. "Hey."

"What happened?! I was worried sick about you!"

Six giggled softly. "Nothing to worry about, Seven. I'm a bit beat up, but I'll be fine."

"...Where's Twelve?"

Six changed in an instant. A cold tone entered her voice. "Let's put it this way. He broke my nose, so I broke his neck."

All the kids within an earshot gasped. They were staring at Six fearfully, as if she was about to attack someone else. Six was fully willing to use their fear of her to her advantage. She looked around at them.

"Anyone else who picks on Seven will end up like Twelve. Understand?"

There were a few fearful mutters. Seven began to lead her away from the crowd. Once they were alone, he looked at her in shock. "Did you really kill him?!"

"Not on purpose..." Six reasoned. She felt a little bad for lying to Seven, but at least it was believable. She knew he hadn't seen the fight. It made more sense than what had really happened.

The moment Twelve refused to back down, she'd been filled with an uncontrollable feeling of pure rage, and it had taken over her actions. She'd _let_ it take over her actions. Some part of her had enjoyed the rush of attacking Twelve and scuffling with him, blow after blow exchanged between them. She remembered how he'd landed a heavy hit out of nowhere, and the pain that had flashed through her head like a thunderbolt. Despite herself, she smiled at the memory of her own hot blood streaming thickly down her face, a little getting into her mouth. She'd enjoyed the taste. She could still feel pain there. The pain and blood had only encouraged her. She'd lunged forward and grabbed his head, twisting it brutally. The sound of the snap had sent an odd feeling of satisfaction through her. He was dead almost instantly. That was when the adrenaline had faded, and Six had begun to feel lightheaded from the sheer amount of blood gushing from her nose. Enough blood lost to make her faint, apparently, as she remembered nothing after that moment. Her next memory was waking up in a strange room, mostly patched up, and Roger giving back her raincoat.

Seven looked at Six worriedly. "...Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine. I'm just a bit bruised up. Nothing serious."

"Six... you killed someone. I know he was a jerk, but you still killed him. You killed him because of me..." He had tears in his eyes. 

That was when Six was hit with the realization that Seven, her best and only friend, was afraid of her. She was fine with that fear from anyone else, but... not from him. The gravity of what she'd done set in a little more. She shuddered.

_What am I?_

"...I'm sorry, Seven. I kind of lost control of myself. I didn't mean to kill him."

"That's not what you told them..."

"Because I wanted to scare them, so no one would pick on you anymore."

"...Okay."

Seven trusted Six, of course he did, she was his best friend, but something about the situation made him uneasy. Still, he decided not to voice his concerns. She was probably right. Her killing Twelve had been a freak accident, and it didn't matter anymore because she was okay.

Six was more confused and upset than she'd let on. Something was wrong with her, and she couldn't deny it. She'd killed someone and she'd _liked_ it. She hadn't been able to control herself. She didn't think she could have stopped, even if she'd wanted to, which she hadn't. She felt like she was standing at the edge of a pit, only the slightest movement from falling in.

_What am I? What have I done?_

She could feel herself beginning to tremble. She felt sick to her stomach, as if she was falling from a great height. She felt hollow. Completely, utterly hollow. She couldn't stand the sight of her own shadow, and staggered a little as she turned away from it. The words echoed over and over in her head.

_What am I? What am I? What's wrong with me?_

She could hear Seven talking, but she couldn't comprehend his words. She felt her knees give out beneath her.

"Six? Six?!" Seven was concerned by his friend's unresponsiveness. She was shaking, and what he could see of her expression was sad and distant. He saw her start to collapse, and managed to catch her before she hit the ground. He gently lowered her down so she was sitting with her back against the wall.

Six ran one hand through her hair, pushing back her hood and bangs. For the first time, Seven could briefly see her eyes. They were brown, rimmed with red around her pupils. She had a fearful, faraway look in her eyes, and she began to tear up as she looked up at Seven.

"...what have I done?" She whispered, sounding terrified.

Seven sat beside her, gently hugging her. He wished he knew what to say. He wished he could tell Six that it wasn't her fault, or that there was nothing wrong with her, but that would be a lie. He didn't think he could lie to her.

With nothing to say, the two sat beside each other for what felt like a long time. Six was still shaking, and Seven was trying his best to calm her down. The nursery was quiet for once, as the weight of a death settled over them. Twelve was dead, and Six was his killer, and for the first time, the others realized that maybe this really was a bad place.


	7. The Runaway Kids

Everybody talked that night. They couldn't just not talk about the insane events of the day, from the fight, to Six returning alone with the confirmation that Twelve was, in fact, dead. The shadows were sinister that night, and when the children fell asleep, monsters ran rampant in their dreams. Brown-eyed monsters with snarling voices, wearing bloodied yellow rain coats.

Six didn't want to sleep. She layed, staring at the ceiling, feeling cold and shaky and sick to her stomach. She had only eaten once, at the beginning of the day, and now she was rapidly becoming aware of a growing pain in her stomach. A stabbing pain that made her want to curl up and cry. While she did curl up, she managed to fight back her tears. Still, a low groan escaped her. Between her current somewhat feverish feeling, her terror at what she'd done, and the hunger pains, Six was really suffering.

Six's quiet whimpering woke Seven, who was a pretty light sleeper. He noticed Six shaking, curled up tightly as if she was in pain, and quickly crossed the short distance between them.

"Six?!" He whispered fearfully. "Six, are you okay?!"

Six only groaned in response. Her hunger pains were rapidly growing worse, and her psychogenic fever was only making things harder for her, not to mention the pain she still felt from the brutal fight earlier.

Seven began to feel fearful as Six's groaning grew more pained and other children were starting to wake up.

"We need help!" Seven cried. "Something is wrong with her!"

"Serves her right," a cold voice hissed. "She's a murderer. Let her suffer."

"She's one of us!" Seven argued.

"She's a monster!" Someone else whined. "We should kill her now, while she's weak!"

Kids were starting to get up now. Seven felt nervous as a few approached. A child grabbed Six, dragging her out of bed.

Six cried out in pain and fear, immediately trying to get away from the small circle of attackers. Seven helped her up and led her away, but it wasn't long before the others started to close in.

Desperate, Six and Seven ran toward the dresser that Six always climbed, but Six was already staggering from the pain.

_There's no way she'll make it up there,_ Seven thought worriedly.

Six suddenly saw her chance. An open vent behind the dresser. It would be tight to get to, but it was better than nothing. She dropped and crawled in, Seven close behind her.

It was quieter in the tight space of the vent, and now that they were out of danger, Six was once again feeling her hunger pains in full force. She groaned and clutched at her stomach, with a white-knuckled grip on her raincoat.

"Six, we can't stay here." Seven's voice was gentle, but scared. "I know it hurts, but we have to keep moving. Maybe we can find somewhere for you to lay down..."

Six nodded weakly, shivering as she began to crawl forward.

Seven was once again full of concern for his friend, who seemed unable to keep herself out of trouble for too long today.

_As if the fight wasn't bad enough. Now something is hurting her... this is getting scary. What's wrong with her?_

After a few minutes of crawling through the vents, the two children's luck finally started to turn. Six tumbled out into a large open shaft. Seven cautiously stepped over her and looked around.

"...there! There's a suitcase!" Seven ran over to it. The thing was bigger than him, but it sprang open when he undid the clasps. The suitcase was full of clothes, with a thick blanket neatly folded on top.

_Perfect_!

Seven ran back to Six, who had managed to get up but was still doubled over in pain. He supported her as she staggered along painfully, guiding her to the suitcase. Even through the thick plastic of her raincoat, he could feel the fever that had been brought on by her distress over what she'd done to Twelve.

"It will be okay, Six..." he gently helped her sit down. "You should lay down. The blanket in the suitcase is better than the ones in the nursery."

Six whimpered softly in response. She felt cold and hot at the same time. She felt like she couldn't breathe. Her small hands shook as she undid the zipper of her raincoat and slipped it off, revealing a black tank top and shorts underneath.

Seven frowned. Six was incredibly thin, even for someone her age. Her skin was very pale, but her arms and legs were marked with dark bruises from the earlier fight. As Six laid down, Seven picked up her raincoat and hung it off the end of the suitcase before gently pulling the blanket over Six. He felt bad knowing she was sick and hurting, and he intended to help her however he could.

A loud squeak from the far side of the shaft startled him, causing him to stop fussing over Six for a moment to go investigate. As he approached, three figures stepped away from one of the multiple vents that led into this shaft. The figures were small, with pointy mushroom-like heads, and squeaked fearfully when Seven got close.

"Hey, I won't hurt you," Seven promised.

The mushroom things chittered nervously, still shying away.

An idea struck Seven. He picked one up, hugging it gently. The thing chirped happily when he put it down, so he did the same to the other one, smiling.

Six groaned painfully again, and Seven felt bad for getting distracted. He looked at the mushroom-like people, hoping they could understand him.

"Can you help us? Something is wrong with my friend. She needs help."

The mushrooms nodded and ran off into another vent. Seven quickly returned to Six.

"It will be okay," he told her softly. "The... whatever those things were... they said they'd help us."

Six nodded quietly. "They almost looked like those little pointy hat things... I don't remember what they were called..."

Seven took a second to figure out what she was talking about. "...gnomes?"

Six nodded. "Yeah..."

Seven smiled. "Maybe that's what we can call them. Nomes."

Six smiled a little, before another wave of pain twisted her expression and made her cry out.

A few minutes later the Nomes returned. One was carrying a large bucket of water, and the other had some food.

Seven grinned. "Thanks guys!"

The Nomes chittered their nonsense. Seven didn't even try to understand.

"Six, you should eat something."

Six nodded quietly. She sat up, and as soon as food was offered to her, she ate ravenously. Seven smiled a little as she saw relief flash across her face.

"Better?"

Six nodded. "Much. Thanks."

"Don't thank me. Thank the Nomes."

Six, still feverish but already feeling better now that her hunger pains were gone, looked at the tiny creatures somewhat skeptically.

"They're shy, but they're friendly," Seven said cheerfully.

The Nomes squeaked. Seven decided that meant they agreed.

"...thanks, Nomes." Six said quietly.

"You should try to sleep. A lot happened today."

Six sighed. "Yeah..."

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"If I hadn't slept with you, none of this would have happened..."

"Sev, don't blame yourself. If I hadn't had that stupid nightmare..."

"That wasn't your fault!"

"I still killed Twelve. I didn't have to, but I did. Don't blame yourself for this, Seven..." Six was still shivering, but she figured it didn't matter.

Seven hugged her, and now that the raincoat was gone, he could feel just how hot her skin was. Or at least, it seemed hot in comparison to the cold air of the shaft. "Six, you're burning up!"

"It's not that bad..." she mumbled.

Seven frantically tried to recall what you're supposed to do when someone has a fever, but nothing came to mind, and he wasn't even sure how to tell how bad the fever really was.

Surprisingly, it was the Nomes who knew what to do. One pulled the blanket up over Six's shoulders, while the other dug in the suitcase for a rag. It then poured some of the water on the rag and put it across six's forehead.

Six giggled softly. "Clever little things..." she mumbled, beginning to feel sleepy and a little dazed.

"Goodnight, Six." Seven said quietly.

Six closed her eyes. "Goodnight Sev..."


	8. Arguing With Six

Six sat up, rubbing her eyes as she woke. The events of the previous night were blurred and vague in her memory. She remembered kids being angry at her, and running from the nursery. She remembered the Nomes and the awful hunger pains. She looked around at the dark shaft.

_Where's Seven?_

She felt a twinge of worry somewhere deep inside. It was unusual for her and Seven to be apart for long, but she took a breath to calm the gnawing feeling.

_Where would he go?_ She asked herself. _What makes the most sense?_

Six frowned as she couldn't quite figure out where he'd gone. Maybe to get more food or something? Worry gnawed at her stomach.

A friendly chirp nearby startled Six out of her thoughts as a Nome nodded at her.

"At least I'm not alone," she muttered, patting the Nome's head.

The Nome chirred, seeming pleased with the affection. That made Six smile.

Six quietly stretched and put on her raincoat. She sighed as she realized that by now, she couldn't return to the nursery without being noticed. Not that she really wanted to anyway. Now that she'd been driven out, she didn't see a reason to return. Besides, she was free to explore now.

But the problem with exploring was she'd need to find her way back. Which would be difficult. Once again, she felt concern over Seven anx wondered why he'd leave.

Six sighed in annoyance and began rummaging through the suitcase, hoping to find something of use. After a moment, she felt something hard and cool to the touch. Pulling it out, she saw that it was a silver metallic object. It was rectangular, with a split near the top and a hinge on one side. Curiosity overcame her, and Six flicked it open. There was a small button inside. She pressed it.

_Click._

Six yelped at the sudden light, dropping the object.

"I'm glad Seven wasn't here to see that," she muttered to herself as she picked up the object again, inspecting it once her eyes had re-adjusted to the absence of light. This time, she was prepared for the sudden light and heat when she pressed down on the button.

As the tiny light sprang to life, Six remembered the word for it.

_It's fire. And this thing is a lighter. A fancy one too. It might even be waterproof._

The knowledge of the thing was useful, even if the memories attached to it were out of reach, buried in a deep fog at the back of her mind. The longer she lived here, the less she cared about the absence of any memory prior to this place. For now, wherever she was could be the whole world, until she found a way out.

"A way out..." Six mused out loud. That was something she hadn't considered fully yet. She vaguely knew, just like she'd known what the lighter was, that there was a world outside of this place. And if there was an out, then there had to be a way to _get_ out.

 _I need to think logically about this,_ she told herself. _Getting out of the nursery was dumb luck. Getting out of whatever this place is will probably be a lot harder._

Her curiosity got the better of her, and Six decided that exploring the shaft would be a good start. With the lighter in one hand, she began to wander around the small space. She soon saw something she recognized as a lantern, and lit it. With more and more light in the room, it was becoming easier to see. The Nome didn't seem to mind the light.

 _Wasn't there two last night?_ Six wondered. _Where's the other one?_ _...Maybe with Seven?_

She decided it didn't matter. What mattered was making sense of this place and getting out, and she couldn't do that from inside this shaft.

But again, there was the problem of getting back. Even with the light, she still had no idea what was out there. If she left, she might not be able to get back, and this was the only place she felt certain she was safe.

"Plus, I can't just abandon Seven," she muttered to herself. 

_Why not?_ Six felt a shiver down her spine. This voice, this thought, was not her own. _He's not important. Abandon this place. Leave him behind. You don't need friends. You don't need anybody._ _He might not even be coming back!_

 _Shut up!_ Six mentally shouted at the voice. _Seven is my best friend! He wouldn't just leave me! And after all he's done for me, I can't just leave him! Besides, I care about him and I like him too much to abandon him! Now get out of my head!_

The voice fell silent after that, and Six was relieved to notice the cold feeling leaving her. But something danced at the back of her head like the lantern's flame, and she let that thought overtake. Something she'd said when arguing with the voice.

"I... like him... too much..." Six slowly repeated out loud. The words made her feel funny. Yes, she liked Seven as a friend, but part of her knew that wasn't what she'd meant by it. Again, a word surfaced from her empty memory. A word that only increased the funny feeling, and made Six's cheeks tint a light pink beneath her hair.

_Crush._

Six scoffed at her own thought. 

"I'm not crushing on Seven!" She argued out loud. "Just because he's my best friend, and I like him, and I liked cuddling with him, and he's super nice, and he's sweet, and I want to protect him, and I wish I could be around him all the time, and I want him to hold my hand... and... and..." Surprise flooded Six's mostly hidden expression as she realized she could probably go on like this for quite a while, and she flopped onto the bed-like suitcase, feeling like she had a big family of moths flying around inside her stomach.

"Oh no... I am crushing on him, aren't I?" She said with a heavy sigh.

The Nome was aware that this question wasn't directed at them, but they nodded enthusiastically anyway. 


	9. An Agreement

Seven moved quietly through the vent, being careful to avoid anything that looked like it might squeak or clang. He felt bad for leaving Six, but he knew they'd both need food to survive and he wasn't sure if they could completely rely on the Nomes. So Seven was making his way back to the nursery. 

One of the Nomes had followed him, and was now trying to get his attention.

"What is it?" Seven whispered.

The Nome squeaked and pointed to a different vent. An offshoot that Seven hadn't noticed before.

"Where does it go?"

The Nome simply pointed again. Curious, Seven decided to follow the little creature's directions, and wandered into the other vent. It seemed to slope upward, and soon Seven felt more like he was climbing than crawling, but soon he saw why the Nome had brought this to his attention. As the narrow tunnel flattened out, Seven saw a grate on the floor of it. Looking through this grate, he could see the entire nursery from the ceiling.

 _Everyone's awake already,_ he thought. _Roger should be in soon..._

Almost as soon as that crossed Seven's mind, the creaky door swung open, and the long-armed janitor began counting the children. Upon realizing that Six and Seven were missing, he made a sound that was something like a sigh, and something like a screech.

"Where are they?!" He demanded.

The children's answers rose like bubbles. They were there, clearly, but were not particularly helpful to Roger. Seven could only hear snippets.

"Ran off-"

"Chased them-"

"Hid in the vent-"

"Six was sick-"

"Probably dead by now-"

Seven held his breath as Roger silenced the children by slamming his fist on the wooden floor.

"Useless! All of you, useless! The one thing I ask is for you to get along, and you can't even-" He cut himself off with a sigh. "...what does it matter? I'm sure I can find them. Wouldn't be the first time. But you'll all get half your rations today, and I'll be increasing security. Starting with blocking off that vent."

Seven sighed. _Guess I'm not sneaking back into the nursery to steal food... there's gotta be another way._

He began awkwardly going backwards to go back the way he came, as there wasn't enough room to turn around until he got to where the two vents connected. The Nome had waited there, which Seven found a little surprising. He'd thought it would wander off. But he decided it didn't matter too much. What mattered was getting back to Six. Hopefully before she woke up.

 _Six..._ his mind began to wander. _I hope she's alright. She seemed to be doing better when I woke up, but she wasn't awake._

At that thought, he was reminded of the dull ache in his neck from spending the night on the ground of the shaft. It had been uncomfortable, yes, but he hadn't wanted to bother Six when she wasn't feeling well. 

_I don't know what I'd do without her. She's my best friend. Well... my only friend now._ He thought back to the fight. Even though it had been only yesterday, it felt like it had been ages ago. Still, Seven could clearly remember how amazed he'd been when Six had stood up for him. And he definitely remembered the chill that had run down his spine when she'd started to growl.

 _There's something about her that's dangerous,_ he thought, _but that doesn't make her any less my friend. Maybe I can help her with that. Between the fighting and her getting sick... she's not normal._

He frowned.

_What even is normal anymore? What was it ever in the first place? Nothing about this place is 'normal'. I guess that includes Six._

He thought about the word _normal_ for a while. Like most of his memories, he knew what the word meant, but he didn't remember anything that would have given him such knowledge. What had been normal before here? Did it even matter?

Seven sighed. _It's too early in the morning to be introspective. I want to go back to thinking about Six._

He paused at that. "Why..." he whispered to himself. "Why do I want to go back to thinking about Six?"

 _Because she's your friend,_ he told himself mentally. _It's normal to like friends, and want to think about them... right? Is there such thing as liking someone too much?_

He shook his head, forcing that thought aside, and focused on his memory of Six. Her soft, pale skin and small stature reminded him of the ragdolls that had been in the nursery. but then there was her silky dark hair, and...

Seven thought back to the rare times he'd seen what was behind those long, black bangs. Her eyes were something incredible to him. A light shade of brown, fading to red closer to the pupil. He found himself wishing he could look at that more often. There was something alluring about Six. Something he...

 _Loved?_ His own voice came teasingly to him in his head.

Seven found himself nodding at his own thought. "Yeah..."

The word came back to him, like most words do, as he mentally searched for something to describe his situation.

_Crush. I have a crush on Six. Or something like that._

He huffed to himself. _How am I supposed to deal with that? Things are difficult already without... feelings. If I tell her, she might not want to be my friend anymore! I don't want that to happen..._

Seven huffed and shook his head, deciding that was a problem for another day. As he snapped out of his thoughts, he realized he'd stopped moving. He began to walk again, being cautious of his steps. 

_Just get back to Six, and worry about your feelings later. It's probably nothing, right? So let it be nothing. If it doesn't go away, maybe I can talk to Six about it once we get out here._

Like Six, Seven had reasoned that if there was a _here_ , then there had to be an _out of here_. And that was the goal right now. The only goal. Feelings would be useless if he ended up dying here.

He shuddered at the unpleasant thought. "Okay... that's enough thinking for now..."

He continued down the vent, following the same straightforward path that had led him to the shaft the first time. He smiled as he neared the end and caught sight of Six's bright yellow raincoat.

"Six?" He called out quietly, hoping her voice would give him a clue as to how she was doing before he reached her.

"Seven?" Her voice was soft, but nowhere near as weak as it had been the previous night. "Is that you?"

Seven smiled. "Yup. The one and only."

Six smiled as she saw Seven crawl out of the vent. He'd been gone since she'd awoken, and she'd been getting worried.

Seven quickly went to his friend. "How long have you been awake?"

Six frowned. She was bad at judging time. "Uh... A while. But I found something."

"What is it?" Seven asked curiously.

"Look." Six showed him the lighter. "It makes fire."

Seven grinned. "That's so cool! Now we have a light!"

Six nodded. "It will be useful."

Seven sat beside her in the oversized suitcase. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Me too." Six admitted. "I'm sorry for causing so much trouble..."

"It isn't your fault." Seven told her. He thought about what he'd seen from above the nursery. "...but we can't go back. Roger is mad and everyone got in trouble for letting us leave."

Six shrugged. She couldn't care less about the others. All that mattered to her was making sure she and Seven stayed alive.

 _What does he matter?_ There was that voice again. The one in her head. The one that wasn't hers. _He'll only slow us down._

"Shut up!" Six cried, not realizing she'd spoken out loud.

"Sorry!" Seven yelped. 

_What did I do? Is she mad at me?_

"Not you, Seven," Six said quickly. "Sorry. I'm just..."

"Thinking too much?"

Six nodded. _Something like that._

"It's okay." Seven smiled at her. "I get it."

Six paused. "...Seven?"

"Yeah?"

"We've gotta get out of here."

Seven nodded. "something about this place gives me the creeps. I don't think we belong here."

"I don't either," Six agreed. 

Seven paused, recalling his thoughts about Six from earlier. "...but you've gotta promise me something."

"What is it?" Six also recalled her thoughts about Seven. Though the two children didn't know it, they were thinking the same thing.

"If I end up being too much trouble, and stop you from escaping, just leave me."

Six frowned as the cruel voice in her head whispered it's agreement. Six rebelled against those thoughts. _Not. Happening. I refuse to lose him._

"No. We get out together, or not at all."

"But-"

"I won't leave you behind, Seven. We're a team now. Friends don't abandon each other."

Seven nodded slightly, feeling a familiar churn in his stomach at the thought of losing Six. He knew that if this conversation had been the other way around, he'd be saying the exact same thing.

Seven took a breath. "Together or not at all."

"Swear?" Six offered her hand.

Seven shook her hand, and something about this action suddenly felt very serious, and very permanent.

"I swear," they said in unison.


	10. Malevolence

Deep below the waves, creeping in the shadows of The Maw, an unseen presence examines It's work. It has come a long way, but now there is once again much to be done. Swirling in the darkest heart, It speaks to the elder of It's hosts.

_I have chosen._

_Who?!_ She demanded. She was always demanding things.

 _It is not your place to know,_ It whispered.

_Whoever it is will inherit this ship! It's my right to know!_

_You are the disgrace who has failed to produce an heir. It is not your place to know my intentions. Only mine. If you wished to know, perhaps you should have tried harder._

It could feel the elder's contempt at the stinging insult. This had been It's plan all along. Watch and wait, and seize the first chance that arose from this ship's murky depths.

_You will not find them. The heir is mine, and mine alone. Its potential is far greater than yours ever was. It is chaotic and destructive. It mirrors me in nature. Truly a perfect host._

_But they won't be trained!_ She protested. _You'll destroy them!_

_The first in your line was not trained. When the inheritance is not familial, the transition is slow. I will influence her, and guide her along the right path, right in to my waiting jaws._

_...As you will, my lord,_ the elder conceded.

Internally, It laughed at the elder. Such a simple mortal mind. It was not a deity, and yet she would refer to It as one. It found her amusing. Still, as funny of a pet she was, It needed a new host, and the elder was nothing compared to the heir. The heir was the perfect storm. Reckless, yet clever. Intelligent, but still naïve. All that was left was the matter of transitioning, and consuming that little rebellious spirit. 

It felt delighted at that thought. All that power, held in such a tiny frame. Truly a worthy plaything. Soon enough, It would claim her completely, and then It's work would truly begin. It would no longer be contained and controlled by a "trained" heir. It could break it's ties to the elder's line, and truly be free. 

~

She had a name, once. They all did. The memories were hidden, buried so deep that even It could not reach them. Such was the power of the elder's dark magic. The power to obscure. To control. To force into submission. They must all forget.

But once... long before the terrifying influence of The Maw... she _did_ have a name. Long-forgotten memories and dreams have more in common than one might think. A dreamer walks in tilted steps. Sometimes it's better to forget.

_Are you sure you want to know?_

The dreamer sees in flashes. A bright world and a shining sun. A bizarre structure that calls an old, forgotten word to mind.

_Playground._

A friend. An old friend. Or at least, as old as a friend can be when considering such a short life. A boy. Does he have a name too?

_He did,_ the past tells the dreamer. _He used to._

_What was it?_

_Daniel. Dan._

_And mine?_

The dreamer doesn't know. The past knows, but the past is lost. The dreamer, aware yet blind, watches the progression of her brief, scattered memories as they flash before her eyes with gradually increasing speed and intensity, until they become too painful to handle.

Daniel. You and Daniel. Close. Hands that touch and words that understand each other. You know him and he knows you. Nothing was ever wrong. Nothing ever will be. Right? You know so little. And yet you're sure. 

The playground. You're sure. But something feels wrong. So very, very wrong. A shadow moves unnaturally. Too big to be a person. Far too big.

_He_ comes.

He has Dan.

He has...

He.. he has...

Oh... God... Oh God... OH GOD NO!

_Snap. Snap. Snapsnapsnapsnapsnap._

Screaming. Sobbing. A year's worth of grief and torment. Pain. Loss. Fear. Did you ever sleep? Do you even know what sleep is anymore? Paranoia. You saw him. You remember. He'll get you.

Doctors and grownups and pills and tests and tests and you'll always fail. Always. Because it was real and it was scary and you don't understand and they don't understand.

They tell you it's not real. They always tell you that. Reassurance. It's false. You know it is. He's going to get you.

_Who?_

The Ferryman. The Ferryman. He took Daniel. He'll take you too. Take you and break you and drag you away.

_Snapsnapsnapsnapsnap._

It was never real.

But why would you be traumatized by the death of someone you imagined?

Killed by someone you also imagined?

What's a Ferryman?

What's real? What's not? Who are you? Where? Are you pretend too?

Why do you still have his friendship bracelet?

You don't anymore. They took it away. Not real. Never real. Faked. Why? For attention. For sympathy. For an escape. Seen something you weren't supposed to. Wrong place. Wrong time. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

_Who am I? What am I?_

Home. Home for the first time in months. And they still don't care. Don't understand. Don't help. Don't stop him. Can't stop him.

A face. A face in your room at night. He's back! He's back! Run! You grab a raincoat on your way out. But no shoes. Who cares? You don't have time. Run! Run! Through the rain, down the road, cut by glass and small rocks. Run! He's behind you! He has you now! Dragging. Dragging you down the street. Why don't they see you? Why don't they hear your screams?

The lake... no. No no no no please no-

Falling. Falling. No... drowning. Can't breathe. Can't breathe. Who are you? Where are you?

_Daniel. Gone. He took him. He..._

_Killed..._

Sinking. Sinking. Down and down ä̸́ͅn̶̹̈́d̷̞̔ ̸̗͛d̶̦͑o̴̭̅w̵͍̑n̶̡̈́ ą̷̖̇̈́̐̒̄̽́͑̆n̶̡̮̜̻͔̤̮͙̑d̵̨̡̛̦͍̱̜̮̱̤̃̾ ̸̲̩͉̹͉͔͔̓̄̊̇̉̊̿̀ͅd̴̜̄̉͐ṏ̷͈̺͎̽̄̐ẁ̷͈͆n̴̛͇͚͙̻͈̱̄̉̑ ȃ̵̡̮͖̊͂ň̵̼͕̹̫̩̭̮̗͚͇̣͚̗̳̪̞̳̖̫͋̍̆̈͊̄̿͆̕͝d̵̢̤͚̻̜͎̖̥͈͕͉͙̮̯̳̰̜̫̪̏̔̌͒̇̕͜͝ ̷̡̡̦̜͈̘̠̺̪̺̹͓͖̥͎̰͙̻̅̔́̑́͊͌̇̓̒̒͗̔͊͒͌͋͛̆̒̚͝ͅd̸̨̹̖͔̜̜͔̜̳̻̳̫̽̏̓̀̏͂͊́̿̈̌͊̀̾͑̈͘͜͜͠͝͠ơ̷̡̤͍͚̼̖̘̣̝͑̐́̉̎̿̀͂̆͒̾͒̏͝w̶̨̟̳͇̦̤̹̖̗͂̏̆̌n̷̩̝̼̘͕̓͛͗͠ a̴̢̡̨̛̪̼̗̭̝̮̹̳͉̝̥̮͌̋͗͂̆̑͐͒̿̆͒͛̒͑̈́͋̄̄͒̽̑̿͊̐͛͒̋͗̆̃̂̆̌̏̕̚͝n̸̛̦̦̮̺͉̾̆̌̈́͛̈́̅͑̂͊̉͐͌͑͠͝͠ḑ̵̨̧̨̪͇͚̝̯͎̘̹̭͉͕̙̫̱͔̹̖̮̪̩͎͙̱͎̼̬̤̘͚̝̳̭̯͓̬̟̋̄̃̃̅͊̃̈́̑͋̂̚͜͜͠.̷̛͚̌͒̓̊̍̓͊̎̂͐̒̌̍̀͂̈̽̓̂̐͒̓̔̈̃̃̓̐̑͗͛̅̾̒͘̕̕͘͠.̵̜̱̍̊̒̾̈̆̃̓̈́͒̾̓̏̍̽̑͋́̔̄̕͝͠͠.̷̧̨̧̢͖̗̘͍̗͈̖͖̳̗̝̜̠̯̲̪̩̯̥̞̲̬̟̪̝̤̲̦͈̯͉͖̦̖̝͕̐͒̋̒̂͗̓͛̄͂̅́̊͆̈̽̽̚͜͜

W̵̡̨̛̗͎̥̺̝̖͙̟̖̰̙̯̺̝̘̗̩͎̬̺̱̾̈́̈́͛̏͑̈́̈́͂͊̓̅̈̀̈̈́̚̕͘͘͘͜ͅͅh̶̡̨̛̹̖̹̞̪̳̞̙͙̝͖̫̭̩̬̩͈̼͕̲̓̊͋̂͗͋̍̔̐͒͌̀̇̄̑͆͒͆̒̓̍̒̿̐̚̕͠͝͝͠͝ÿ̴̢̨̨̡̧̨͖̲̞̳͔͕̗̪̝̫̠͔͔̮̹͈͎̦̼̹̙̘͇̲̟͍̟̠͔̪̖́̈́̊̈́͜͜ͅͅͅ ̸̢̛̛̥̣̫̣̥̦̌̉̅̈́̃̋̓̾̍̓͐̅̈́͒̈͒̎̇̃̔͊́̊͂̀͛̋̒̄̓̑̈̈́͂͛̌́͂͒̃̍̕͝͝a̵̧̨̡̢̳̯̲̯͉͍͛̊͗͑̒̏̐͑͗͗̇̑̓̐̃̾͘̕̕͝͠͠͝ŗ̵̢̡̡̡̡̛͕̲͍̭̤̦̰͚̹̮͚͙̦͔͓̖͕̳͕͚̭̥̯͚̼̗̥̻̜͓̝͕̘̰̥̻̎̎̊͑̄̒̎̈́̀̑̐̊̋̿̌̒̉́͒̉̍͐͊̚͘͜͝͝͝ͅe̵̢̛̳̗͍̯͖̥͒͑̈́̉̓̋͌͛͑͐̈̋̂̇͆̌̀́̿̾̋̚͜ͅͅn̸̻̞̪͕̜͓̲͙̼̻͔͎͗̎̆̆̅͂͊̐́́̏̈́͗̂͊͋̀̐̄̊̕'̴̧̨̹̼̟̯̭̠̜̼͈̤̦̘̮̰̘̬̩̰̩͎͓͕̗̻͇̻̲͓̞͇̫͔͈͕͕̑͌̍̈́͋̌́̄̒̽͋̈̇̽̓̊̐̃̐̈̔̂̅̍̍̇̌̈̈́͌̓͌͂̚͘̕͜͝͠͠͝͝ͅͅt̷͇̯̱̭̣̩͉̩͈͉̪̞̳̠͔͍̤̒̀͑̐̅̅̇̎̽̀̽́̐̾̅́̄̀̈͊̿͒̎̋̾͗̃̈͋͑͐̂́̕͝͝ ̸̨͇̝̬̣̲̟̘̰͙̬͕̳͙̟͇̗̩̹̆͆̑̃̇̽̈́͑̓̓͒͂̇̿͘̕͝y̸̨̧̭̝̮̯͉͓̦̤̮̲̹͓̲̘̖̺͕͔̥͈̱̮̱̯̺̥̤͙͒̊͗̆̒̋̑͆̓̒̀̋̇̈́͐̾̐͂̆͑͆͂̈͒͂̏͆̊͋̆͐̕̚͜͜͠ỡ̶̥̫̖̥̺̜͓̊̿̎̽̃͒̈̈́̐̎͋͗̎̐̅͋̆̌̃̔̒͐̎̋̄͌̐̅͋̑͋̕̚͝ų̸̢̢̨̼̥̫͈̜̪̳͈̝͔̬̫̖͚͓̙͍̠̳͎̘̹̯̰̼͕͙̭͓̣̥͖͉̘̹̱̬̼̣̈̉̃̏͂̽͌̓̊̍͒͛̍̔̐̽͆̽̚̕͜ ̵̢̧̧̛͈̘͎̻͚̫̖̻͓̹̥͔̞̳̬̥̥̙͈̩̫̜͎̝̲̘̫̖͙̱̼̘̜͈̞̖͖͎͈̹̻̣̩̈́̈́̃͌̐͋̍̽̂̋̒̊̑̽̕̕̕͘͘͝͠b̸̛͚͆̉͋͌̂͐̽̈̌̍̐̿͊͂̐̈́̉͒͑̄̆̀̄̃͊̂̍̃̋̀̏̔̎̓͘͘͘̕r̴̢̡̞̹̼̼͓͍̲͉̯͎̳̞̓̌̈́̅̇͌͑͗̑̓̄̍͋̉̐̏͂̾͑̈͛̆͐͌̇̅͆͂͘̚̕͝͝͝ë̵̛͙͖̟̗̫̩̬̪͆̋͊̔̐̈̊̋̆͗͗̄̔̽̉̈́̅̈́̊̽̇̍͆͆̇̕̕ą̵̨̡̪̦̝̞̯̲͖̫̦͚͇̈́̇͌̾͒̈́̔͛̽͑̆̾̄͆̾̒̎̊̎̌́̅̽͆͗̏̐͆̇̀̔̕̚̚͝͝͠͠͝ͅţ̵̨̧̢̡͉̲̹͔͚͔̳̝̜͔̣̖̦͔̗̗̝̼̝̗̮̘͚̥͙̺̮̖̽̽͒͑̿̒͗̊̀̔̓̒͆̓͋͆͂̾͂̓͒͂̏͂̅͐͊͌̈́̕̚͜͠h̷̨̭͈̜̗̱͓̹̩̜̥͓̮̻̘̮̮̰̱̏͆̊ͅī̴̧̛̬̦̣̼̲͖̦̘̠͙̟̓̒̆̾̇̐̀̑̓̐͑̈̋̇̕n̸̡̡̧̛̥͕̖͙̼̠̲̭̪͍̹̺͎̣͔̤̗̠̺̲͎̠͇̟̗̱̝̦̘̆̓̌̓̑̎̍̐͋̇̎͘̚͝ͅg̵̗͔̦̙͎͍̫̟̱̠̘̞͉̞̲̼̟͒̏̒͑̐̈́̈̓̏̃̂̈́̅̈́͂̇̚̕̕͜͜͝ͅͅ?̶̧̨̢̧̭̭͓̜̙̠͈̤͕̻̱̯̙͔̣̇̐̒̌̾̂̚͝ͅ Ẇ̸̢̛̺̳̜̩̦̦̯̺̰̈́̔͊̏͌̽͋͆͆̾͑̈̏͆̈́̐̃̕̕͠͝ͅḩ̴̡̧͎̺̤͎̫̭̺̪̗̥͓͈̩̞̝̰̳͓̥͇̘̮̹̫͚̞͎̰̣̥̙͔̤̳̟̀͗͊̈́̐͊͊̊̔̇̎̈́͗̒̍̓̽̈̋̎̆̎̑̏͘͠͝ͅy̶̧̡͓̥͕͕͚͉̝̹͚̳͙͖̲̺͉̳͙͔͙̫̒͌͆̽̐́͆̎̆͜͜͝ ̷̨̢̧̲̘̠̬̪̮͓̘͔̗̩̙̥̘̖̰͈͍̰̭̝̲̗͈̩͚̮̞͒͋̽̄͆̾̈́͛̋͗̅̿̆͑̇̈́̐̆̎͗̂̈́̕͠͠ą̴̛̹̝͇̝̮͓͕͔́̑̔̐́̒̎̃͛̿̾͛̌͑̋̑͂͗̃͒͆̈̔̇͋͋̕̕͘͝͝ŗ̶̡̧̛͔̰̺̞̰͔̼͉͓̫̻̩̫̭̟͍͍͓͎̱̺̠̪̯̜̼̬͍̬̖̍̀̀̚͝ͅĕ̵̢̛̯̥̣̲̞͖̲̗͔̗̤̲̦͎̩̼̮͚̳̳͍̪̯̗̤̹͋̂̅̈́͛́̌̂̋̑͐͐̀̑̍͂͋̈́͆́̏̋́̋̐̈͛̓͋̉̊̉̽̚̕̚͝͝n̶̡̡̢̢̢̼̞͙̮̪̘̩̥̪̼̠͓͈̯̯͉̞̹̞̥͎̟̲͇̲͙̤͚̔͑́̾̐̒̕͜͝͝'̵̡̡̡̡̧̢̧̛̺̰͕̹̬̳̪͉̻̦̠̬̙̫̝̬̼̱̭̹̻̯̗̣̭͓̬̓̓̆̽̃͌̒̋̉̉̓̀̌̆̋̓̓̅̔̄̾͛̓͗͐̚͘̕͝͠ͅt̷̯̾̂̓͑̃̋̓̓̂͌̈́̏͋͘͘͠͝ ̷̨̧̧̜̹̫̯͉̥̳̹̲͚̥̪̳̼̪̭̭̤̳̣͈͉̫̪̹̱̥̩͖̫̙̣͇͕̤̙̤̞̤̼̜̣̹͋̌̃̍͜y̵̨̛̻̫̦͈̥̳̩̱̱̼̼̠̻̬̫̻̗̳̺̬͆̆̾̾̃͊̋̇͐͋̈̓̐̆̎́͆̎̈́̂̓̐̏́̔͘̚͜͝͝͝͝͠͝͝o̷͙̤̻͇͚̞̩̳̝̯̹͖̖̺̼̮̻̜̳̤̻̤̜͕̭̔ͅų̸̡̢̖͓̝̜͙̣̦̯͖̺̤̞̖͖̣͋̎̇̿͊̈́̽̇͑̅̎̈́̂̉͗͂̂̇̓̉̾̇̚ ̶̢̤͔̜̻̲͔̠̹͇̪̙͖͍͕͎̘̘͎͔̭̣̜̯̎̒́̿̈̍̍́͂̈́̊͛̎̏̽̆͋̏̀̍̑̆̽͊̕̕͜͝͝ͅb̵̫̰͑͐͆̊̊̍͊̀͆̇̈̄͌̕̕͘̚͝͠ṙ̴̢͙̖̱͙͓̤̠͙̣͔̹͙͈̮̞̥̜͕̪͓͇̻͕̦̫̩̩̥̖̥͓̙͔̳͜͜ͅͅé̸̡̧̯͔̻̰͖̜͕̳̩͔̭̦̞̗̲̤͙̗͙͈̝͖͈̜̹̟̱͕̣̫̩͙̳͕͓̤̟̮̹̣̼̓̔͋̉́̅̉͋̔̽͒̿͒̈́̌͋͋̍̆͆̎͊̑̈́͗̐̔͛͆͂̽̂̍̐͐̚͜͝ͅͅḁ̷̧̧̡̡̨̛̼̯̲̻̲̬͉̪͉͓̯͈̠̪͎̬͓̝̘̬͚͖͈̣̩͚͖͔̯͖͌̐͛̇̌̚͜͜͜͠ͅt̷̢̧̡̡̲͙̝̱̮͕͙̟̜̱̬̼̟̫̝̝̬̙͔̞̗̣̤͎͓͈̪͖̯͊̏̑̐͐̄͒̎͒͑̅̄̑͗̈̇̄̿̅͌̍͌̂̆̆̋̂̕̕̕͜͝͠͠͠ͅh̶̡̢̩̤̠͗͆͌̑̽̈́̾̃̂͆̆͌͛̚ḭ̴̛̣̥̳̖̖̭̦͎͓̮̻̫͔̙͇͇̣̩̠̘͈͖͓̫̼̪͍͍͓͍͎̯̮̰͎̭̘̟̹̄̒̂͒̔̒̌́̎̓͛̒̏̂͐̓̑̆͗́͆̿̈́̓̇̒̚̚͝ņ̷̛̛̣͎̼̹͉̬̹̠͙̫̺̈͊͒̓̉͗̈́͗̇͌̀̀͌͂̈́͗͋̇̾̿̄̑̀͊̊̐̇̑̊̀̐̉̚̕̕͘͜͜͝g̶̡͚͙̞̰̟̫̲̦̣̺̼̯̮̘͕̟͎͚͍̬̘̻͙̦̙̗̓̈́͋̅̊̌̋͌̽͐̽̈́̄̊̾̿̉̕͘͝͠ ̸̡̢̨̤͓̟̠͖̠̙̦̜̪̻̮̠͙̗̼͙̫̜͈͊̒̈́͐̅̌̓͊̒̀̌̆̃͗ͅͅą̵̢̡̡̢̧̫̟̥̭͍̝̫̗̫̣͕̙̳̬̜̮̗̟̱͖̱̟͍̲͚̞̗̗͔̱̻̗̪̝̮͖͈̈̈́̎͗̍̍̿̓͜͝n̵̗͈̹͚̻̳͓͍̮̈́͂̈́̈́̿͒́̌y̴̘̻̪̯̭̦͎̗͚̰̘͎̗̏̽̄͋̌̒̈̕͜͠ͅm̸̨̧̢̢̛̛͔̪͖̹̦͓̻̗͈̳͎̠̪̼̱̮͚͖̭̫̞̮͕̬̝͈̰̻̣̭̰̭͚̬̩̦̏̈́̈́̒̉͌̽̓̓̊̀͗͐̏̅͂̉̌̀̄͋̀̓͌̕̕͘͜͜͜͜͝͝͝͠ͅọ̸̧̡͎͕̳̥̫̙̖͙̝͕͈̗̠̪̼̙̺͔̼̥̭͛̾̂͌̈́̄͐͋͂͐̈́̉̅̒̾̎̃̆̏̈͒̇͌͂͐̀̎͘͝͝͝͝ͅͅŗ̴̖̘̳̮̗̜̹̫̮̭̉͒̋̍̈͊͂͜ͅę̵̫̦̰̯̺̠͉̙̳͈̣̰̝̜̮̱͚͖̙̥͍̗̠̮̙̻̖̤̫̺͎̤̭̳̙̀̐̓̒̈́͋̎̈́̄̓̎͗̂͛͘̚͜͜͠͠ͅ?̵͇̱̬̲̹̦̄͐͆̏̆͠ͅ Ȩ̷̧̛̝̼̗̣̹̠͎̫̣̙̜̣̠̰̟̐̆̎̊̇͛̊͊̈́͑̇̓̂͐̇̋̅̿̆̎́̾͆̌̐̉̕͘̚̕͜͠͝ͅl̵̢̡̧̖͖̝̙̬̝̪̱͖̪̟̜̩̱͍͚͘ĩ̷̡̛̖̤͔̹̩̜̫̟̲̦̹̙̞̜̭̟̙̳̺̰̩̯̗̼͖̫̖̥͚̲̼̳̩́̑̃̈́̈́̌̀̈́̊̈́̇͌͑̐̉̄̍̆͒̈́̓̈́͘͠ͅž̷̡͕̩͔̗̮̻̌̏͌͜a̸̧̛̛̛͕̻̜͕͍͓̹͉̤͙͇̮̲͔̹̠̎̇̔̉̊͒̓͛̉̏̀̐͂̒͆͛͆̍͜͝͝b̵̧̢̧̻̤̰̩͍̦͖͇̳̥͍̰͚͎̜͖͕͕̮̟͇̩̱̲͖͈͎͇̹̼̼͎͉͙͎̘͗͂̑͐͌̎͐͛̆̔̕̕͜͜͝ḙ̶̡̢̢̡̨͈̮͎͉̰͙̫̟̲͈̜͚̖̻̹̹͓͓̩̱̟̟̯̬̺̜̯̤̬̲̊̎̈́͗͌̃͆̌͌̈́̅̃̆̌̏̎̕̕͘͝͠t̶̨̧̰͈̻̦͍̰͕̩̼̮͙̜̠̗͍͇̽͌̈́̂͐͑̓͆̾̈́̓̿̍͘̕h̸̡̡͕̻͔̹̳̗͈̭͍̜̣̠̘̠̩̥̽́̈́̎̒̿́̔́̓̀̚͜,̴̢͖̪͕͉͊̂͛̒̊̈̏̆̋̑͂̌̏̌̅̇̄̃͑̉͒̅̽̽̓͂̽̃̔̾̽͐̑̽͘̕̚̕͝ ̶̧̡̡̡̛͍̮͙̝̙̱̠͙̦̠̩̘̮͇̭͎̬̱͎̩̺͔͍͙͍̗̞̻̥͚͇̣̗̳̹̜̘̍͛̉͐̔̒̆͑̇͆́̋̓͌͒̾̂̔̄̾̂͛̈́̆̋̃̏̄͂̚̕̕̚͜͠͝͠͝͝͠ͅw̴̨̛̼̙̣̲͓̹̟̠̣͍͓̺͈̫̯̭̦͖̼̲̪͕̐͋͋̈́͂̈́̓͑͊͛͆̅͋̓͆̂̏̍̋͌͑͋̎̇̇̚͘̚͘͜͠ḁ̸̡̧̧̡̡̥̬͎͔̻̺̻̞̝̘̞̠̼̪̠̪̮͓̣̰̘̠̬̼̖̺̓̀͒ͅͅk̴̛̛̛̪̦̀̑̓͊̒͒̍͐͑͊̋̀̀̓̇̽̏̾̊͂̋̐̈́͌̉̅̑͌͛̓͝͝è̵̡͉̘̰̮̞̤͎͖̹̫̼̰̳̮͍̩̤͚͇̣͕͚̜͈͒̐͗͗͌̍̒̆̓̔̽̎̇̔̈́̅͊̃̇͑͑̅͆͜͝͝ͅ ̸̨̨̢̨̢̛̛͓͎̬͓̜̲̯͕͈̼͉̖̱̮̺̜̯̮̰͚̮̉͑̐͑̈́̅̅̌͂͛̔̒͛͆̊̾͋̄̏͆̓͛́̆͆̔̒̃̆̊͘͜͜͝͝͝͝͠ͅų̵̨̡̧̛̛̛̜̭̲̟͓̣̤̠̙̗̮̫̣̻̠̮͕̫̭̪̲͙̙̲̻̱̫̲͇͉̭͚̳̇̃̈̂̇͂̿̌̐̍̇͆̆̊̈̐̍̈́́̿̎͒̄̂̀͐̚͘͝͝͝ͅp̵̛͉̝̭̠͔̞͉͓̮̗̥̜͎̳͉͍̼̮̮̫͈̬̖̞͖̻̗̰̊͒̍͑̊̍̄̎̈̀̊̔͌̓̏̃̄͌̎͆͒̒͗͌̑͆͗̐̀̿̂̀̎͛̎̈́͒̊̍͛͒̏͘͘͝͝!̸̛̰̏̈́̋̈̂͋̑̀͗͌̃͒̄̉̀̏͗̍̈̋̈́̏̊̈́̂̔̈́̃́̐͊̍͘̚͘͠͠͝͠͝  
  
  
  


Į̶̠̙̯̰̹̱͎̹͓͓̟͍͇͖̣͇̭͙̫͕͔͛̄̎͂͛̈́͌̈́̊͂̈̑̋͆̿͋̿̏̏̑̌͑̇͊̓̆̀́̌͗̎̚͘ẗ̷̨̡̢̢̗̥͎̺̟̖̞͎̟͕̩͇̩̻̦̮̳̘̖̩̳̘̲̰̹̻̭͇̼̳̦͕̳́͐̿͑̐̈̇̍͋͑̐̌̾̿̀̒̉ͅ ̷̧̢̨̧̢̛̛̛̛̪̥̘̭̰̝̭̣͙̗̬̟̯̭͇̠̹̞̮̹̩̯͙̲̦̳̘̺̲̞̖̖̳͖̟̈́̿̅̑̆̋͋͐̂̏́̋͗̌̌̃͊̇̏̋͐̂͒̊͂̈́͘͘͘̕͘͜͜͝͝͝ͅċ̴̛̛͔͔̮̖͍̳̗̺̥̬̤̘̙͉̭͈̼̟͔̙̠̀̈̒͌͐̿͑̇̋͋͊͒͗̀̕͜͝͠ä̷̢̡̛̙̮̜̼͔̟̬͉̞̥͎͖̫̪̮̫͚̭̞̼̂͊̈́̃̈́͐̋̈́̏͊͆̽̀̔̉͛̒̂̕͘̚̕̕ͅn̸̡̢̛̤̟̲̪͎̮̝̈͒̇͒̌̀͌̌̅̈́̄͋͗̿̆̎̍̾̂̋̆͌̽͐̍͂̃̌̄̈́͐̓̐̾͘̕͘͘͝ ̶̡̡̢̫̦͇̪͉̮͈͎̯̠̖̦̯̭͔͈̺̝̬̤̪̭̗̣̯̻͖̬̜̙͇͔̻̲̩̱͎̖̠̭̅̍͆͗͜͝ͅͅs̴̢̧̧̢̮̭͎̲̰̤̬͈͈͎͖̯͎̻̳̫̳̺̞̘̙̺̻̤͉̫͔͇̞̝̙͍͖͚͇̞̟̘̩̩̓͌̇̓̽̄̀͛̆ĕ̷̢͔̮͈̣̼̪̖͒̇̄͐͊͌̓̋̓̽̌̐̒ȩ̵̡̨̥̯̰̙̞̦̺̣͎̳͔͉̬̣̲̗̖̥̣̘̐̐̐͗͗̂̋͊̔̊́̈́̅̈́̔́̏̉̕͘̕͜͜͠͝ͅ ̶̨̥͚̻̺͓̭̹̥͍̻̟̙̹͂͐̈́̃̇̒̄̊̃̇͛̓͆̑̈́̈́͌̔̉̅̑̐͆̈̓̐̈̌͑̓̚̚͘͝͝͝͝͠y̵̢̛͖͓̖͔͈̳̘̱̺̜̥͎͖̱̜̼͚̰̙̫̟̟͓̐̏͂̈́͊̔̑̓̉̔̅͌̌͌̿͒̓̒̑̓͗̎̂͆͐͛̂̃̋̃̈̒̕͝͝͠͠ͅǫ̵̨̞͕͇̟͎͖̤̲̤̯̗̟͕̺̟̥͍̯̞̯̭̹̜̬̦̤͓̗̫̜̫̮̲͖̝̬̱̙͓͗̓͆̎̾̐͊̔̐̒̉̊͐͌̚͠ͅư̷̳͎̣̙͚̞̬̟̦̪͓̮̼̩̒̃̄͐̀̓͆̊̿͛̈̋̅̅̒̈́̀̾̊̈́̏͒͘͝͝͠͠͠͠͝!̵̰̖͈̜͈͈̪̞̗͖̐̾͗ͅ


	11. Awake and a Way

"Six! Six, wake up! SIX!"

Seven's horrified, desperate cries dragged Six away from her nightmare as she began to gasp and cough, suddenly aware of a terrible tightness in her chest.

Seven sobbed in relief, the flood of terror now retreating into his chest.

"Oh my gosh... S-Six..."

Six tried to catch her breath as she sat up, and frowned at her crying friend. "Seven?"

"You stopped breathing," Seven whimpered. "You were having a nightmare and I was trying to wake you up and you stopped breathing... I thought you were going to die..."

Six coughed again and tried to gather her thoughts. It had been her first nightmare in over a week of living in the shaft. As she tried to recall it, it fled from her mind. Only a few fragments remained. Water, a death, and that same lingering fear that seemed to cut deeply into her soul.

"I'm sorry, Sev..." she mumbled, still breathless.

"It's okay..." Seven was starting to calm down. He was still scared for Six, but he told himself taking care of her would be more useful than freaking out. "It's okay, Six. It's not your fault."

Even as he spoke, Seven couldn't make himself believe that it was truly okay. The pure horror he'd felt when Six had stopped breathing... he shook his head, trying to be free of the thought, but the sinking sensation in his stomach remained.

Six hugged Seven, hoping that the action would comfort them both. She felt cold and afraid, and something about that particular nightmare left her feeling almost uncomfortable in her own skin. Something was wrong. So very, very wrong.

"We don't belong here..." Six whispered.

Seven nodded. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know..."

"...there has to be a way."

Six nodded quietly. "I guess we can't stay here forever."

Seven gently hugged her. "Let's not worry about it right now. Just focus on calming down."

Though they didn't know it, each kid was extremely relieved that the other was alive, though both for very different reasons.

"Maybe I should just stop sleeping..." Six mumbled quietly. "That way the nighmares will stop."

"You can't do that," Seven reasoned. "You'll make yourself sick."

"The nightmares make me sick anyway..."

"Well... yes, but not all the time. Besides, if you don't sleep you won't have any energy when we start exploring."

Six sighed. "I guess."

Seven hugged Six close, wanting nothing more than to protect and comfort his friend, even though he knew that he couldn't really protect her from herself.

Six frowned as she felt the all too familiar claws of hunger. She'd been experiencing this a lot lately, and had come to realize that the immense pain only came when she waited too long. Still shaking, Six let go of Seven and stood up, stumbling to their small stockpile of stolen food and taking something.

Seven understood, or at least he tried. He wondered if maybe Six had some kind of illness that caused her hunger pains. He shook his head at the thought. Six was concerning enough without the threat of something being wrong with her.

_Is something wrong with her?_

Seven quickly pushed the thought away. He had trouble viewing Six as anything less than perfect. Sure, some worrying things happened to her, and she seemed to be drawn to trouble, but that didn't mean something was wrong with her.

Six, on the other hand, was convinced otherwise. She turned the thought over in her head, examining it thoroughly. 

_This hunger isn't natural. Just being hungry shouldn't hurt like this. And there's something about these nightmares that make me wonder... am I going crazy?_

She looked at Seven, turning her thoughts to a different topic. "I have an idea."

Seven smiled. Six's ideas were the best... even if they caused trouble sometimes. "What is it?"

"If we had a way to mark where we've been, we could probably go explore. See what else there is here. If we can mark our paths, then we'll always have a way to get back here."

Seven nodded. "Right. But how do we mark our paths? We don't have any string or anything.

Six smirked. It was a mischievous smirk that made Seven feel like he had a moth living inside him.

"We'll steal some markers from the nursery." Six said confidently.

"Are you sure?" Seven questioned. "Everyone there hates us. Besides, Roger increased security, remember? There might not be another way in."

"We'll go when everyone is asleep. We can figure it out. I know it. We've gotta get out somehow, and that means taking risks." She spoke with the bravery and confidence of a leader. Seven felt convinced he could follow her anywhere, even if neither of them really knew where they were going.

Still, there was doubt hanging in the air. "Six, are you sure..."

"I'll go alone if you don't want to come," Six said, her voice taking on a colder tone.

Seven frowned. "I didn't say that. We're in this together, remember? I'm with you."

Six nodded, solemnly reminding Seven of their vow. "Together or not at all."

She didn't show it, but she was actually very relieved Seven had agreed to come. She cared about him, and the idea of going on an adventure without him just felt so... wrong. He was _her_ friend, and she couldn't just leave him behind. No matter what the voice told her. It told her that far more than she liked, but she was learning how to shut it up.

"So, what's the plan?" Seven asked.

Six thought for a moment. "First we'll have to scope out the area. Figure out how we're going to get in, and how we're going to get out. Then we can either improvise or come back here and make a plan."

Seven nodded. He liked the idea of a plan, but who did he think he was kidding? The mischief in Six's eyes told him that this would almost definitely result in dangerous improvisation. But maybe he was okay with that. After all, wasn't that how adventures were supposed to work? The doubt in the air was now replaced with sparks of anticipation. It was time for Six and Seven to fully embrace their roles as runaways.


	12. The Nursery

It didn't take long for Six and Seven to grow comfortable with travelling short distances from their safe haven. Over the next day or two, Six and Seven repeatedly went back and forth between the shaft, the vent above the nursery, and another vent they found. After hiding there for what felt like ages, Six had seen Roger exit a door not far from the vent, and that led her to believe that the door led into the far side of the nursery. The area that was blocked off by both a door and by Six's old friend; the electrified bars.

"So what you're saying," said Seven, "is that there's no way in."

"No." Six grinned. "What I'm saying is if we can get through the second door, the one that leads into the nursery, then this should go off without a hitch."

Seven sighed. "Six, this is nuts."

"We've got this, Sev." Six smiled. "In and out. No problem. We can watch each other's backs. Once we're past the door, all we have to do is sneak through the play area, find some markers, and get out. Easy."

Seven sighed. "You're sure?"

"I'm sure. Come on, what could _possibly_ go wrong?"

Seven sighed. "I guess you're right. Let's go."

~

The two spent quite a while at the vent above the nursery, quietly waiting until they were certain that everyone was asleep. Once Seven was completely convinced, because he was a lot harder to convince than Six, the two carefully made their way down to the vent near the door. They had already seen Roger leave. They quietly slipped out and approached the door.

"Now what?" Seven whispered.

Six thought for a moment. "Can you give me a boost?"

"Uh... I think so."

With Seven's help, Six managed to grab the door handle. Her weight pulled it down and Seven quickly pushed the door open. Six let go, and Seven felt his heart skip a beat. Six landed well, dropping to a kneel to lessen the shock, but Seven was still concerned. The idea of what they were doing had made him far more nervous than normal.

The two children curiously examined the one area of the nursery they'd never really been in. Six had seen it once, but only very briefly. As they looked around, Six approached the far door.

"We'll have to open this one too, to get into the play area."

"Won't that draw attention?"

"...maybe. But it's a risk we'll have to take."

"Six, I really don't like this."

"Well it's too late to go back now."

Seven was about to argue, but Six was already climbing things and jumping to the handle. This time, it didn't budge. Six dropped.

"Locked."

"Guess we're not getting markers then. Let's go."

Six shook her head. "We'll have to find another way."

"The only other way is through the grate! You'll be electrocuted!"

"Hmm..." Six began to examine the room, and soon found what she was looking for, hidden behind the door. "There's a switch. Bet it controls the grate."

"What if it doesn't?"

"Then we go back."

Seven thought for a moment. "What if it turns back on?"

"...Okay, fair point. I didn't think of that. You stay here. I'll go."

"Six-"

"Seven," her voice became a little more forceful. "We don't have any other choice if we want to get out of here."

Seven sighed. "Fine... just... be careful."

"I will," Six promised.

Six helped Seven get up onto the counter, and from there he could reach the switch. The power clicked off with a low buzz. Six approached the bars, feeling a little nervous as she remembered the awful burn of being shocked. She let her hand brush against a bar. When nothing happened, she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, and carefully slipped through the bars.

Seven watched her nervously, silently hoping she would be okay.

Six was nervous too, but she hid it well. She constantly looked back, barely able to see Seven through the bars. If Roger came back, she knew that Seven was definitely screwed. The thought of getting her best friend into trouble made Six feel a little sick.

She sighed and shook it off, looking through the nursery. Soon she found what she needed. Two black markers. She tucked them into the pocket of her coat, next to the lighter. She returned to the bars. By now, she could see the power sparking between them.

Seven had noticed the power go back on, and quickly shut it off again so Six could get back through.

Six ran over to Seven as he climbed down.

"Mission accomplished!" She whispered happily.

"Great. Let's get the heck out of here."

Six nodded, and the two quickly snuck out and back into the vent. They returned to their shaft, and Six eagerly handed Seven a marker.

"We can explore now!"

Seven sighed. "If all our exploring is that crazy, I don't know if I want to."

"Well I have a marker too. So even if you don't want to explore with me, I'll still be able to find my way back to you." Six said with a grin.

Seven nodded. "That's good."

Six yawned.

Seven laughed softly. "Bedtime?"

Six nodded, rubbing her eyes. "Yeah. I guess adventuring is tiring."

"Yeah." Seven smiled a bit. Mostly he was glad that their adventure had gotten Six's mind off of whatever nightmare she'd had earlier.

Seven guided Six to the suitcase. Even though she knew he didn't need to, Six liked it. She liked holding his hand. She liked being near him. Seven was a calming presence in a chaotic world, and she loved that about him.

One of the best things about living in the shaft was that no one was around to pick on Six and Seven for sleeping together, which they did every night now.

Six knew it was because there was only one bed, but she also knew that she didn't cling to Seven the way she did at night by accident, and she also knew it was no coincidence that Seven held her the way he did.

The two children curled up in each other's arms in a near silence that was almost peaceful for once, and for a while they could pretend that the blanket could protect them from everything in the world.

In that moment, neither of them thought about crushes or feelings, because it didn't matter. All that mattered was that in a world that felt so very wrong, this felt _right._

In that moment, neither of them needed to say "I love you", because in the sleepy, hazy moments before sleep that would be long forgotten by morning, they knew.


	13. Voices in the Dark

Seven nervously looked around the dark room. He couldn't ignore the creeping feeling that he was being watched. Tense moments passed, and then the light caught on a pair of eyes. Familiar eyes. Tinted red, yes, but still familiar.

Before Seven could fully process how he knew those eyes, he felt pure agony exploding from the side of his head. He could feel himself being crushed. He could feel his flesh being torn. He wanted to scream, to fight, to do anything, but he found he couldn't move or make a sound. The pain was unbearable, and the world around him began to go fuzzy. Slowly, dreadfully slowly, everything faded to black.

Seven woke with to an intense headache and anxious brown eyes inches away from his face. He blinked. Everything was still fuzzy, and his head throbbed at even the slightest movement.

"Seven, are you alright?"

"Hurts..." he mumbled.

"You were screaming in your sleep..."

Seven had never seen Six so worried. The emotion in her expression made him feel a pull in his heart. He tried to sit up, but that only invited another intense wave of dizziness. He groaned.

"Don't sit up if it hurts." Six's voice was quiet, and she was surprisingly gentle as she pushed him back down. It confused Seven a little. Why was she fussing like this?

Six watched Seven worriedly. His screaming had scared her, but now she was just concerned.

_Did he get hurt when we raided the nursery? Is this my fault? Why didn't he tell me? How did I not notice?_

She looked him over, trying to see if there was any visible injury. "Where does it hurt? Did you get hurt yesterday?"

"My head..." Seven mumbled, "and I don't think so... I... I had a dream, but..."

Six frowned. "A dream?"

"More like a nightmare... Something attacked me..."

Six frowned. "...Seven?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember that time I stopped breathing?"

He huffed. "How could I forget?"

"When that happened, I had a dream I was drowning. What if... what if this is the same thing? What if our nightmares can actually hurt us?"

Seven frowned. "That's... weird."

Six sighed. "You know what, don't worry about it. Just rest for now. Hopefully it will wear off."

"Six, I-"

"Don't you dare say you're fine. You can't even sit up. Until your headache stops, I'm taking care of you and that's that."

Seven looked at her. Part of him liked when Six got confident like that, but part of him was annoyed that she was using it against him this time. He would much rather the situation be the other way around.

_Not that I'd ever want Six to be in pain,_ he mentally corrected himself. _That's not what I mean. I just don't like feeling useless like this._

"Don't argue." Six crossed her arms.

"I wasn't gonna-"

"You were. I could see it in your eyes."

Seven sighed. "You know me too well."

"Yes I do." She smiled. "And I'm going to make sure you'll be okay."

"How do you plan to do that?"

Six frowned. She hadn't thought that far ahead. Was there even anything to be worried about? Seven didn't seem to be hurt, he just had a headache. She decided she wouldn't worry too much unless it got worse.

_It better not get worse. I don't know what I'd do without Seven..._

_Leave and get on with your life. He slows you down._

Six growled quietly as the strange voice returned. _Get. Out. Of. My. Head!_

"Agh!" She shouted in annoyance.

Seven winced at the loud noise.

Six blushed and covered her mouth. "Sorry!" She whispered.

"...'s alright." Seven muttered. "You can talk, just... not loud?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah... it actually makes my head hurt less..."

Six nodded. "Okay. What do you want to talk about?"

A sneaking thought entered Seven's mind, and he decided to follow it. "Do you remember anything?"

Six smiled. "Yeah, lots of stuff."

"Like what?"

"Just words, mostly. Like... when I'm trying to understand something, the word just pops into my head and I get it."

"That happens to me too... or I can sometimes tell when something doesn't make sense."

"Yeah. I wonder if the other kids get this too..."

"I don't know..."

The two spent the day talking about anything and everything, from their current situation to the things that had happened, and even what they thought they might see when they escaped.

"I think we'll see an ocean," Seven told Six. "It feels like we're on a boat."

Six nodded. "I want to see the sky. I don't remember exactly what that means, but that's the first word I get when I think about outside."

Seven nodded. "Sky is a good word."

"Is it your favorite word?"

He thought for a minute. "Hm... no. My favorite word is fuzzy. What's yours."

Six hesitated. Her favorite word was the one she was convinced Seven wouldn't like. She and Seven had been living in this shaft for a while now, and she found her thoughts drifting to Seven more and more. Mostly, the thoughts were good things, as long as she could keep the strange voice out of the matter. Things like how nice it felt when they hugged, and how much she liked when their hands touched or when they got too close. Even now, she found that her worry about him came from the same place as the other feelings. That word surfaced again, the word that had come to mind when Seven had asked what her favorite was, and she decided to take a risk.

"Do you... do you remember the word crush?"

Seven tilted his head. "Crush like squish?"

"No... um... the other kind..." She could feel her cheeks heating up. 

Seven blushed as well. He knew that word all too well. It was the word that came up whenever he thought about Six. Everything about her, from her quirky personality to the funny way she tilted her head when she was curious, was wonderful. Especially her eyes, which were always peeking out from just behind her bangs. 

"Seven?" Six's voice roused him from the distraction.

"Oh, sorry. Um... yeah, I know what crush means."

"Okay. Well, that's my favorite." Six felt funny. She turned away from Seven, feeling like bringing this up had been dumb.

"Why?" Seven moved a little closer to her, his heart racing. His headache had been slowly going away throughout the day, but now it was barely a memory.

Six sighed.

_You got yourself into this mess,_ she told herself, _and now there's no way out. I guess I'll just have to tell him. If he hates me, then I can just leave._

Six took a deep breath. "Because it's the word I think of when I think about you."


	14. Such Sweet Surrender

Seven felt his heart skip a beat as Six's words echoed over and over in his head.

"...you mean it?"

Six's cheeks were tinted red. "Yeah."

"You... have a crush on me?" Seven was aware of just how stupid he sounded, but right now he didn't care. His heart was in charge right now, not his brain, which was screaming at him to just shut up.

Six nodded slightly.

"Funny you should say that..." Seven mumbled.

_Any second now, he's going to start laughing,_ she thought. _This was a terrible idea, and now I'm going to lose my only friend because of it._

But Seven didn't laugh. After a few heart stopping seconds, Six found the willpower to meet Seven's eyes. Those brilliant ice-blue eyes that made her heart flutter. She could see it now. He wasn't amused. He wasn't going to laugh.

Seven took a moment to gather his willpower, before finally taking a leap of faith. "Six, I have a crush on you too..." 

Six froze. "You do?"

Seven nodded, blushing. "I do. I have for a while."

Six took a moment to process that, and then a huge grin erupted across her face as she hugged Seven.

Seven chuckled softly and hugged Six. It felt good to know his feelings for Six weren't one-sided. He held Six close, and the two of them briefly got lost in the joy of the moment.

After a little while, the two regained their senses.

Six looked at Seven, curiosity lighting her brown eyes. "So... what does this mean for us?"

"I don't know. Is it supposed to change anything?"

Six thought for a minute. "Well... we can stop keeping it a secret, for one."

Seven nodded. "Keeping it a secret was hard."

"Um..." Six tried to make sense of her confusion. Unfortunately, no memories surfaced to help her.

"Does it matter?"

The question from Seven surprised her, and her attention immediately went back to him.

"I mean, we were already pretty close," Seven clarified. "I think now we just get to not feel weird about it?"

Six nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense."

Seven paused, getting an odd feeling in his chest. It was like remembering words, but this time it was an action. He moved closer to Six, one arm looping around her waist as the other hand pushed her hood down.

Six blushed, but she didn't pull away. She felt it too. The strange urge to get closer. She was pressed against Seven's chest now, so close that she could feel the warmth of his body through her coat. So close that she felt she could be a part of him.

Almost as if pulled by gravity, the two kids knew exactly what to do. Eyes closed and noses brushed, and then they collided. It was brief, barely more than a few seconds, but to Six and Seven, the time their lips were touching seemed to last almost an eternity. The stars aligned, and breathing synced, because nothing in the world could ever feel as amazing as a very first kiss.

It was a few seconds. It was forever. And then they separated, and both were immediately longing for more as new words bubbled up from forgotten memories.

Seven found himself drawn again to Six's eyes. The beautiful shades of brown and a faint red became puzzle of emotion, and Seven felt like if he just stared at it long enough, he could solve it.

Six could feel Seven's searching gaze. There were no words to describe how perfect it was. Their breathing was in sync, and Six's heart was fluttering with joy. One thought surfaced, and she couldn't stop herself from saying it out loud.

"You're mine."

There was something about the way Six said it that made Seven's heart melt. He made the decision to stop trying to understand. He surrendered, letting his focus slip away, and instead of solving the puzzle, he became a part of it. His voice rose in an answer to Six.

"I'm yours."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Six felt new words rising. Words she realized she'd never truly understood before. Not like this. She'd known the word, and had used it casually, but only now did she truly understand the meaning.

"I love you."

Seven's answer was instant. "I love you too."

In the aftermath of saying something so grown up, the two kids sat in silence. This place was a bad place, but they had each other, and that was good. They hadn't figured everything out yet, and they barely understood all the feelings that seemed to flow between them like an electrical current, but the didn't have to understand. They just had to accept what it was, and let themselves feel it.

And so they sat in the dark, with Six curled up in Seven's arms, and Seven afraid to let go. Both of them feared that if they let go of each other, if the embrace was lost and they stopped touching, the feeling would be lost and the moment would shatter. 

Slowly, so very slowly, Six's mind began to feel sluggish. Her eyelids began to droop. She looked up at Seven, a sleepy haze beginning to claim her. She smiled at him. The way he was looking at her, like she was something precious, made her feel unreasonably happy. 

"Go to sleep." 

His voice was so soft, so gentle, that Six would have a hard time refusing. She tried to think of an argument, she tried so hard, but the words escaped her grasp. She could feel her brain going soft as she was slowly guided towards the darkness.

Then Seven pressed his lips to her forehead. The tender gesture took away what was left of Six's energy. Her heart told her that she was safe with him. She was comfortable. Everything about him, about being with him, was right. It was perfect. And when he held her closer, it was the final blow. Six felt herself slipping peacefully into the darkness.

Seven smiled at the now sleeping Six. Her head was on his shoulder, and for a minute he resisted the urge to play with her hair, before he realized that there was no need to resist now. She wouldn't question it, and even if she did, she'd understand. His fingers trailed lightly through her silky hair, and the comfortable silence stretched on, and on.

"Goodnight, Six."


	15. Human Vermin

The next several days passed in a funny kind of bliss. Six and Seven were happier than they'd been at any point since waking up on The Maw, and were closer than ever. They often stayed up late into the night, discussing nothing in particular and making jokes, now on a new level of comfort with each other. Yes, they were still in a bad place, but at least they had each other.

Still, it wasn't long before curiosity gripped them. They had the markers now, meaning they had a way home, so they began to wonder what could possibly be waiting for them in the world beyond the shaft and the nursery.

"We need to know what's out there." Six was especially eager to go out and explore. Her reckless nature sparked a kind of hunger for adventure.

"I know," Seven sighed, "but what if we get lost?"

"That's what the markers are for, silly. How bad can it be? Besides, we can't rely on the Nomes forever. We need to start figuring things out around here."

Six was right, and Seven knew it, but there was still a part of him that was afraid. On one hand, there was no other way of getting out. But on the other hand, part of him knew it would be dangerous. He sighed.

"Fine. Just... be careful, okay? Don't rush into anything."

"When have I ever rushed into anything?" Six smirked.

Seven rolled his eyes. "I could make a list."

Six laughed. "Come on. The world won't wait forever."

The two chose one of the many vents to wander off into, and from there it was just a matter of marking where they'd been. Little markings on corners and split paths that were almost impossible to see in the darkness.

It wasn't until they entered the vents that they realized just how massive the ship was. There was a seemingly endless labyrinth of twists and turns, and Seven felt uneasy about the whole thing. Every step felt like a step closer to the edge.

 _Go too far,_ he thought, _and something bad is sure to happen._

Six had no such worries about this new adventure. In fact, she was excited. The Maw was a dark and confusing place, and it felt like a worthy endeavor to let her mind roam the dark corridors of the vents. Every new sight was a new piece of the puzzle. A puzzle that would eventually, hopefully, lead to their escape.

~

"You still haven't found them?!" The woman's shrill voice rang through the room like an echo.

"I just need time, ma'am. Between looking for them and making sure the others don't escape... well, I only have two hands." The janitor spoke in an almost apathic tone. There was no way those kids were going to survive long, and he knew it. Then again, none of them ever really survived long.

The Lady huffed. "This has never happened before!"

Roger nodded. It was true, he typically managed to catch troublemakers, and the smaller body bags in the kitchen were a testament to that, but he wasn't too concerned. Alive or dead, they'd turn up one way or another.

"You don't understand. If The Maw dies, we all die with it! Those vermin could ruin everything!"

"They aren't vermin. They're children. I remember you yourself being one once. Five years we've been doing this. They aren't the first escapees, and they won't be the last. What's the fuss for?"

"I need the girl!" She cried. "You can't possibly understand! She's alive, and I need her!"

"There's other girls in the nursery. Aren't they enough?"

"No! It's taken me five years to find an heir, and of course it just happens to be the one who slips through your fat fingers! Get out there and find her!"

Roger sighed as he left the room. 

_No use letting the ramblings of a madwoman get in the way of your work,_ he thought. _What does any of that mean anyway? Heir? Surely any kid could be her successor, with enough training. Why is she so worried about those two?_

He shook his head, calmly returning to the nursery. Things still weren't perfect, but at least there hadn't been any more escapes. There hadn't been any more deaths either. He'd never liked the girl in yellow. Still, if one kid had to escape, he was glad it was Seven. In the brief time he'd known the boy, he'd liked him well enough.

 _Stop that,_ he told himself angrily. _Don't get attached. You know where they end up. Better to listen to The Lady, and act like they're vermin. Sheep to the slaughter, right? Guess that makes me a pretty lousy shepherd._

It was interesting how the dynamic in the nursery had changed now. Since the death of Twelve, despite it being over a month ago, the children had all been a lot more serious and quiet. This wasn't surprising. Death, Roger knew, was an excellent motivator. Knowing this, it surprised him that no more escape attempts had been made. This was, in part, due to his more frequent checks on the kids and other minor security improvements.

_If any other kids escape, she'll have my head. She's never been this stuck up about it before._

Roger sighed. It didn't really matter, did it? The Lady did what she wanted, and everyone else was simply here to make sure that would happen. He came to the decision that it was simply better not to argue. He'd just do his job, keeping the kids alive. The runaways were beyond his control now, and maybe it was better that way. It was better he didn't think about the deeper machinations of The Maw. Better not to remember the troublesome kids who had gone to The Lady and never returned. 

_Ignorance is bliss,_ he told himself. _I have shelter and food, which is more than I had before I started working here. So what if kids disappear, and the meat tastes funny? Out of my hands. Not my problem._


	16. Trust Fall

The vents of The Maw were cold to the touch, and motions echoed through them like a haunting melody. As Six and Seven explored, they made sure to mark their path with the markers they had so carefully stolen.

"What are we looking for anyway?" Seven whispered.

"Nothing right now," Six replied. "We're just seeing what's around."

Seven sighed. He had a bad feeling about this, but he was afraid to say that. He and Six had worked so hard just to be able to explore at all. 

_At least it's something to do,_ he thought. _As good as things were in the shaft, it was getting kind of boring._

He smiled a little at the thought. Over the past few days, as he and Six had become closer, they had also become braver, and had begun venturing farther and farther into the vents. As frightening as it was, it was also thrilling. They had found many rooms, but hadn't entered any, out of fear that they'd be caught if they did. 

Six usually led, but today Seven had decided to give it a shot. Unfortunately, that had been a bad idea. While Seven was the more worrisome of the two, he was also less vigilant. Because of this, Seven did not see the loose vent cover beneath him until it was too late.

_Creeeeeeeeak._

Seven had just enough time to realize he was in trouble before the loose cover fell open, and Seven nearly fell into the room.

Six felt her heart skip a beat as she saw her best friend fall.

"Seven!" She cried, terrified, as she quickly crawled to the edge of what was now an opening.

Seven was clinging to the cover, which was now hanging on by a single screw. He looked up at Six, terror in his eyes. She was on the side opposite from him. Even if he could manage to climb up, they'd be stuck with the huge gap between them. 

"What do we do?!" He yelped. 

"Climb! Quick, before it falls!"

"But we'll be separated!"

"Yeah, and if you fall you'll be hurt _and_ we'll be separated anyway!" She snapped. "Now climb!"

Seven began to climb, but the vent cover swung and creaked beneath him precariously. He was afraid to move too quickly. He didn't want to make it fall. But if he didn't move quickly enough, it might fall anyway.

_What do I do?!_ The question repeated over and over in his mind. _I don't want to fall!_

Six watched in silent horror as Seven struggled to climb. She could see the final screw coming loose. She knew she had to help him. She saw one chance, and it was a risky one. She moved closer to the edge, and carefully slipped off her rain coat, hanging it over the edge. She pressed her feet as much as she could into the sides of the metal vent, for grip.

"Jump!" She called to Seven. "Jump and grab my coat! I'll pull you up!"

"It's not going to work!" He called back, sounding terrified. "I'm too heavy!"

"Seven, come on! You have to trust me!"

Seven took a shaky breath. Of course he trusted Six, but... with his life? 

_I trust her. I have to._ He told himself. _It's the only way._

Seven took a deep breath, braced himself, and then jumped. Somehow, he managed to get a hold of Six's coat. His heart was racing. 

Six was relieved that Seven had made the jump, but they weren't out of trouble just yet. Seven was pretty heavy. Quickly, Six reached down and grabbed Seven's hands, dropping her coat. The one thing that actually belonged to her. She tried not to think about it as she used all the strength she had to move backwards, pulling Seven up.

Once Seven was safely in the vent, the two of them let out the breath they hadn't realized they'd been holding. 

"Seven," Six mumbled, "don't you ever, _ever_ , scare me like that again!"

Seven nodded. "S-sorry..."

Six sighed. "Let's... Let's go home. I think that's enough adventuring today."

"But what about your coat?"

"There's no way for us to get it. Not from here. We could stay to look for another way, bit if someone heard what just happened... I think it's safer if we just leave."

"I'm sorry..."

"It's fine. Come on."

Seven sighed as they awkwardly made their way back home. Because of their position, Six was stuck crawling backwards until they found a space big enough for her to turn around. By the time they got back to the shaft, they were both sad and exhausted, and without the protection of her usual rain coat, Six was shivering.

Seven frowned, feeling guilty, and pulled Six over to the suitcase. He got her to sit down and gently wrapped the blanket around her. 

"I'm sorry."

Six sighed. "It's okay, Seven. I'd rather have you than my stupid coat."

Seven hugged her. "Thank you."

She nuzzled him, happy that at least he was okay. Maybe he could keep her warm instead. The thought made her blush a little.

Seven noticed Six was blushing. "What's the matter?" He teased gently.

"Nothing..."

"Don't lie." He nudged her.

Six giggled, still blushing. "Fine. I want to cuddle."

"As you wish, my lady," he said in a joking voice, holding her close as she curled up in his arms.

Six snuggled up to Seven, laughing softly. "You're too sweet. I'm so happy you're okay."

"Yeah, thanks to you." He kissed her forehead. "You saved me. I owe you."

"Nah," Six said as she tucked her head under his chin, closing her eyes and feeling safe, "you're already mine, remember?"

Seven grinned. Part of him loved it when Six said he was hers. He gently stroked her smooth hair as he held her, and the two of them spent a while enjoying each other's warmth and company. Slowly, but surely, the children drifted off into a semi-peaceful sleep.


	17. Midnight Mission

Late into the night, Seven carefully squirmed his way out from under Six, trying his hardest not to wake her. He slipped out from under their shared blanket, and put on his blue sweater. A quick glance at Six was enough to tell him she was still asleep.

 _I really shouldn't leave her._ Seven thought. _What if something happens? What if she has a nightmare and I'm not here to wake her up?_

Seven sighed and tried to push his doubts aside. Six had saved his life, so he wanted to do something nice for her. He looked around for the lighter, before realizing that it had been lost along with Six's coat. That made his mission all the more important. Armed with only the marker, eyes now adjusted to the darkness, Seven wandered off into the vents.

~

In the shadows of her own mind, Six was once again running down a corridor. She was breathless and terrified, gasping with effort as she urged her tiny body to move faster. Faster. She couldn't be caught. She didn't have her lighter. It was too dark for her to see, and she screamed in terror as the ground from under her feet suddenly disappeared, and she began to fall. 

The air was damp and dank, and carried the sickening scent of blood. Even in her imagination, the smell made Six feel woozy. As she fell deeper and deeper into the darkness, she began to notice the slime on the walls, and the odd jutting rocks.

 _No, not rocks,_ she realized, _teeth._

Hundreds of sharp, jagged teeth lined the walls of her descent. Teeth that dripped fluids. Six didn't even want to consider what they were, or where she was falling to.

_SPLASH!_

Six hit the water with a jarring impact, and the familiar feeling of drowning began to set in. Which way was up? How could she get out of here?! Six began to panic, thrashing desperately in the water.

_Give in._ The voice that wasn't hers was louder here, echoing cacophonously through the imagined cavern. _You've drowned before, you can do it now. Don't fight me anymore. Give in to me, heir. I can grant you power beyond belief. Succumb to your hunger, and you will never drown again._

Six now felt deeply uncomfortable. She continued to struggle. To fight the current that was dragging her down. But she was running out of breath.

The world went black.

~

Seven could barely make out the markings on the sides of the vent as he navigated to where he and Six had been earlier that day. The place where he'd nearly fallen to his death. As he looked down into the room he noticed three things. The first was that the room was empty. That would make his mission easier.

The second thing was that Six's coat was right where it had been left, which also made things easier.

The third, most important thing, was that there was another vent in the room. One closer to the ground. Now it was just a matter of finding his way to it. 

After crawling back from the open vent, Seven turned around and eventually found a different path he could follow. He marked the way with the marker as he went and, by sheer dumb luck, found himself at the other vent he'd seen after a few minutes. He pushed the cover off and jumped down into the room.

 _This is too easy,_ he thought as he retrieved Six's coat. 

Suddenly, he heard footsteps outside. Seven barely managed to climb back into the vent with the coat before the room's door creaked open. He watched, terrified, as Roger entered the room and began feeling around.

_That was too close!_

Moving as quietly as he could, Seven crept back into the vent, and began slowly making his way back to the safety of the shaft.

 _I wonder if Roger is looking for us now,_ he thought. _If he is, that could be a problem. If we get caught, we'll be sent back to the nursery. Or worse._

What was "or worse"? Seven shook his head slightly. He didn't know, and he definitely didn't want to know. 

_Roger wouldn't hurt us... would he? What will happen to me if we get caught? What will happen to Six? We can't let him get to us! I'll have to warn Six when I get back._

Neither child had considered the possibility of being hunted. Trying to find a way out of here was difficult and dangerous enough without the threat of the janitor catching them. But there wasn't much they could do about that.

~

In the depths of The Maw, a voice echoes. It is talking to Itself as it works. Manipulating the dreams of Its heir was indeed a difficult task, but it was also a task that helped It learn how to best control the girl who would become It's next host.

_She certainly shows more potential than my previous host, but her rebellious spirit is a concern. If I cannot break her, I could end up trapped again, and that isn't what I want._

Truly, this dimension was a good home for the spirit, but It did not like being contained on this ship. It also didn't like the way the line It had been stuck with for years had used its own power to trap it here. Thankfully, his current host had proven unable to produce an heir, and this had opened the door for It to formulate a new plan. One to set Its existence free of this miserable ship. Once released, It would plague the world, consuming all the souls it desired until everything was dead, and then It would finally be free from Its task. 

_Destruction is truly a thankless job, but someone must do it. If I do not destroy, I do not exist, and so I must destroy until there is nothing and no one left, and when I'm finished with this dimension I will move on to the next until all life and all worlds are void and barren. Then, and only then, I might find peace._


	18. You Have a Rat Problem

Six woke with a start, coughing and gasping. She looked around fearfully as she caught her breath, and was relieved to find that she was not in the cavern anymore, but was in the shaft. She choked, coughing harshly, and struggled to breathe.

Seven, who had been close enough to hear this, scrambled through the last section of vent as fast as he could and rushed to Six.

"Six, are you okay?!"

Six panted. "Y-yeah... I think so..."

"Nightmares again?"

"Yeah..."

Seven sighed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left."

Six tilted her head. "Where did you go?"

Seven triumphantly held up Six's coat.

Six squeaked in delight and tackle-hugged Seven, who yelped as Six pushed him down onto the suitcase. 

"Thank you, Sev! Thank you so, so much!" Six said with a grin. She hadn't even realized how much she loved her coat until she'd lost it. And now, thanks to Seven, she had it back.

Seven smiled. "Well, you saved my life. It's the least I could do."

Six giggled and kissed Seven.

Seven melted against Six, instinctively putting his arms around her. Now, he and Six had kissed a few times before, but the experience still sent shockwaves through his brain. Especially the slower kisses like this one. He held Six close, happy to feel her weight on top of him. 

Six blushed slightly as she pulled away. "Heh... sorry..."

Seven kissed her cheek. "It's alright, Six. I'm glad you're happy."

Six smiled. "I am now. Thanks to you." She slipped on the familiar yellow rain coat.

Seven grinned. He was glad that his plan had worked. He loved seeing Six happy.

After a few minutes, Six went quiet. "...Sev?"

"Yes?"

"I just realized something."

"What is it?"

"It's been a long time since I've seen any Nomes around..."

Seven frowned. "Yeah, that's true. I haven't seen them either. I guess I didn't notice. I wonder where they disappeared to."

Six's stomach growled, and she winced as she could feel the beginning of hunger pains.

Seven frowned. "Six, when's the last time you ate?"

"I don't know... I think sometime yesterday?"

Seven went to the far corner of the shaft, where they had kept whatever food the Nomes brought when they visited. Which, Seven now realized, hadn't happened in a few days.

Seven gasped in shock as he reached the corner. All their food was gone. In it's place was a large, beady-eyed rat. 

"No!" Seven cried, scaring off the creature.

"Seven? What's wrong?"

"A stupid rat ate all our food!"

Six frowned. So far, her hunger pains had never gotten too bad, but usually she was able to eat something shortly after they started. The one time she could remember them being really bad was the night she and Seven had run away. It seemed like ages ago. The thought lingered in her mind. This was going to get worse, and it would get worse _fast_.

"Well," she muttered, pushing aside her concerns, "I guess there's only one thing we can do."

"What?" Seven tilted his head.

"Explore more. Find out where they keep the food so we can get some ourselves."

"Won't that be dangerous?"

"Definitely," Six said with a dismissive shrug, "but it's not like we have a choice. We try it, or we starve."

Seven knew he could probably last a few days without food. But he also knew about Six's hunger pains. He wasn't sure if they could get any worse than they'd been the first time, and he definitely didn't want to know.

"...Okay," he relented. "We'll do it. It will be easier now that we have the lighter back too."

Six nodded. "It might be fun."

Seven just shrugged and gave Six a kiss on the cheek. "Let's do it."

The two were becoming accustomed to travelling in the vents, although after last time, Seven was much more comfortable letting Six lead. Though he was worried by her frequent stops. Even from behind her, he could see her clutching at her stomach. Knowing that she was in pain was upsetting, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

Six tried her best to push on despite the steadily growing pain. It wasn't too bad yet, but she had the feeling it would get worse.

 _I'm so hungry, I could probably eat that stupid rat,_ she thought. Thinking that somehow brought her an immense rush of satisfaction. The small, warm body, squirming in her teeth as she bit it's throat. The rush of blood and flesh in her mouth...

She whimpered as a fiercer wave of hunger tore through her.

 _Don't think about eating,_ she told herself. _Hopefully we'll find the kitchen soon._

 _Give in._ There was that voice again. The one that wasn't hers. _Attack the boy. Tear his flesh. Kill something._

 _Shut up._ Six thought angrily. _Maybe I'd eat a rat, but not Seven! I love him!_

Still, she glanced back at him. How hard would she need to bite to draw blood? How much would he struggle. _Blood._

Seven watched as Six looked back at him. She had a scary, distant look on her face. Her eyes, normally a beautiful brown, seemed to have taken on a more red tint. She licked her lips. Seven couldn't shake the feeling that something was _very_ wrong.

After a moment, Six shook her head, forcing herself out of her daze. _What's wrong with me..._

Seven frowned. "Six... if you need to stop, I can go on and see if I find something."

"N-no..." she mumbled. "I'm fine, Seven..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." She sighed. "Let's go."

Seven nodded and they continued in silence. He still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Something was wrong with Six. _His_ Six. It made him uneasy. He thought about they way she'd looked at him only moments ago. She'd looked like that before too, when she'd killed Twelve. Like a predator, watching it's prey, trying to decide on the best angle from which to pounce.

_But... Six would never hurt me... right?_   
  



	19. Blood in the Air

Before long, Six caught a familiar scent, and her stomach churned with need at the scent of it. She looked at Seven. "I th-think... I know where w-we need to go..."

Seven frowned. He could hear the pain in Six's voice, despite her efforts to hide it. He was getting very worried about her. "...okay. Lead the way."

Six followed the smell through the vents. Seven marked their path behind her, but Six didn't really care. All she cared about was that intoxicating scent. The closer they got, the stronger it became, making Six feel lightheaded as the hunger gnawed at her insides.

Before long, the two reached a vent. Peeking through the slats of the cover, they could see that they were under the floor of a massive kitchen. Seven frowned slightly.

"It looks empty right now," he whispered. "I think we're clear."

Six nodded slightly, pushing the cover open and practically dragging herself out.

Seven followed, looking around. "Wow... this place is so big..."

Six nodded, stumbling forwards. She had to follow that scent. There was no longer any other option.

 _You must feed,_ said the voice. _Blood and flesh are your only sustenance. Tear and devour. You must consume._

For once, Six found she agreed with the voice. She was practically drooling at the idea of blood in her mouth. She _needed_ something. She craved meat.

Seven watched Six worriedly. Between the way she was staggering, and the predatory look in her eyes, now bloodshot as well as tinged red, he decided he was probably safer staying behind her.

 _This isn't normal,_ he thought. _She isn't normal. What have I gotten myself into?_

He frowned, mentally pushing that aside. _Maybe being hungry makes her sick. Does it really matter. She's still my Six. She's still my friend. My... more than friend. Whatever that's called._

The two continued on in uncomfortable silence. The only sound in the kitchen was the repetitive echo of something dripping, giving the vacant chain of rooms an ominous sense to them. Seven hoped the sound was just the sink.

Six didn't notice much about the kitchen. Driven on by her desperate hunger, she continued to stagger like a drunk towards the scent of blood. That was all that mattered now. Blood. However, it was becoming difficult to ignore the scuffling steps of the living creature behind her. She could not attack him, she scarcely allowed herself to even consider it, but it was quite distracting.

 _He's at such close range,_ the voice that wasn't hers complained. _You killed Twelve, why not him too?_

Six growled, willing the voice away. _He's mine. Not yours. I will not hurt him. Never. He is mine._

Seven tensed when he heard Six growl. The sound sent a shudder down his spine, and he wasn't quite sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He looked at Six, making sure to stay close to her. Right now his worry about her far outweighed any concerns he had about her.

"Six...?"

She shook her head slightly, trying to snap herself out of her daze. "Y-yeah...?" Her vision was starting to blur.

"...I was going to ask if you're okay, but clearly you're not. Do you need to sit down?"

"N-no..." she hated how pathetic she sounded, and forced herself to keep walking.

After a few minutes of unsuccessfully exploring the massive kitchen, Six and Seven reached a large metal door, which was open just a crack. Six froze outside of it. The blood smell coming from inside wasn't nearly as fresh as the one she'd been following, but it was closer. She knew eating would make the pain stop. She felt like her head had been stuffed with cotton. Making the pain stop was all that mattered, and that required eating. 

Suddenly, just as Six slipped into the room beyond the metal door, a loud screech tore through the previously near-silent air. Seven scrambled back, ducking into a vent, while Six hid behind the door. At the far end of the hall, another door that they hadn't seen before shuddered open. 

Seven stared in shock at the thing that emerged from the door. It looked like it could have maybe been a person, if that person had perhaps been inflated like a balloon, then uninflated, melted, and dressed like a chef. The ugly thing wandered towards the metal door, and Seven felt his heart skip a beat. Six was in that room! He had no idea what that thing would do if it saw her!

_I need to do something!_

But there was nothing he could do from the vent but watch in horror as the "chef" approached Six's hiding place. He felt sick to his stomach at the idea of that thing finding Six, and quite possibly hurting her. Six's hunger sickness was scary enough as it was, he didn't want her to be hurt too. That would just be too much for the ever-worrisome Seven to handle. But then a worse thought struck him.

_What if it kills her?!_

Six had hidden as best she could, her back pressed against the metal door, but she could still hear the heavy footsteps approaching. She began to wonder, terrified, what she could do. But in her current state, she could barely walk, never mind run. There was no escape. She was almost certain that she'd be caught, and what would happen to her then? What would happen to Seven? She tried to slow her panicked breathing. There was no way out of this.

Six could feel her heart racing. So much was happening at once, and she felt as though she might explode. She could hear it shambling outside.

_Step._

_Step._

_Step._

_Squeeeeeeeeak._

Six felt her hiding place move, but not in the way she'd expected. Instead of swinging open, the door she was leaning on was pushed closed. The force of it sent Six sprawling on the ground, She heard something click, and a startling realization crept in. She was trapped here.  
  



	20. Cold

Seven watched, terrified, as the "chef" pushed shut the large metal door Six had hidden behind. From his hiding place, Seven watched as the grotesque creature shambled off to do something else. He immediately began to panic. Six was trapped. _Hi_ s Six was trapped, and she was still dealing with her odd hunger-sickness as well.

_I have to find her,_ he thought. _She could be in danger._

Once he was sure that the oddity was out of the way, Seven slipped out of the vent and crept to the metal door. The first thing he noticed was that it was cold to the touch. That worried him more.

The second thing he noticed was that there was no way he was reaching the handle. It was much too high, and even if he could reach it, he didn't know how it opened. 

"This is bad..." he muttered to himself. "This is really bad..."

He could feel himself starting to panic. He was supposed to _protect_ Six, and he'd failed. Anything could happen to her. Anything at all. And he wouldn't be able to save her.

_Snap out of it!_ He mentally yelled at himself. _You can't save Six if you're freaking out. Think, Seven. There's gotta be another way in._

Seven sighed. He didn't want to leave the door. He was afraid he'd get lost. But it seemed there was no other choice. Sighing, he put one hand on the door.

"I'll come back for you, Six," he said, not knowing if the girl could even hear him on the other side. "I promise."

With that, Seven began to follow the wall away from the door, looking for anything that might hint at a way inside of the other room. He was scared. He hoped Six would be okay.

~

It wasn't until the door closed that Six realized how horribly cold the room was. She shivered and pulled her coat tighter around her body, wincing as another, more powerful wave of hunger drove her to her knees. She needed to eat. _Now._

Taking a slow breath, Six once again caught the scent of stale blood. She staggered forwards, following the smell, searching desperately for something, anything, that might sate her hunger and make the pain go away.

This was the worst the pain had ever been. Six could barely walk. Clutching at her stomach, she stumbled around the freezing cold room, her troubled breath coming out as little white clouds in front of her face.

As Six reached the center of the freezer, she found what she was looking for. A little shelf with some meat on it. Her hands now shaking, Six grabbed a piece and ate ravenously. She didn't care that it wasn't cooked. Something told her it didn't matter. Slowly, the pain faded. By the time she'd finished the piece of meat, it was gone.

"Now that that's dealt with," she said to herself, shivering, "how do I get out of here?"

Six looked around the room. The biggest problem she saw was that the door only opened from the outside. She wasn't getting out that way unless someone else opened the door, which would probably mean trouble anyway.

There was a vent leading into the room, but that vent was in the ceiling. This was also a problem. Six had no way of getting all the way up there. She shivered again. It was very cold in here.

With nothing to do and no way out, Six went to the farthest corner of the room, crawed underneath another shelf, and curled up in the corner. She could only hope Seven would be able to find a way in.

~

The more he explored, the more hopeless Seven felt. The kitchen was massive, but he didn't see anything that might have led into the room Six was in. There was another grotesque creature in a chef's costume, and Seven managed to avoid both of them, but he didn't find anything that could help him, and he was getting scared.

_I need to get Six out of there. Whatever that room is, it's not good._

It had already been quite a while since Six had gotten locked in there. Seven didn't know exactly how long, but it had definitely been pretty long.

Finally, after what felt like forever of searching, Seven noticed one of the chefs heading towards the room with the metal door. Seven snuck after them and watched them go inside.

He hid, waiting, praying the chef wouldn't find Six or hurt her at all.

_Please,_ he begged mentally. _Please leave Six alone. Please don't hurt her. Leave her alone and leave the door open. Please, please, please..._

It was only a few moments, but it felt like forever, and Seven couldn't hold back the sigh of relief when the chef finally left the room with no signs of any violent act having happened.

And left the door open.

_Bingo._

Seven didn't remember what that word meant, but it felt appropriate for the situation. He watched the chef walk away, and once he was sure that it was gone, he bolted into the other room.

As he stepped inside, he was surprised by how cold it was. He immediately knew that was a bad thing.

_Six has been in here for so long... she must be freezing!_

"Six?" He called softly. "Six, it's me. I'm here. Where are you?"

A soft whimper answered him, and Seven felt his heart drop as he rushed to the source of the sound. He knelt beside a shelf at the far end of the room and sure enough, there was a familiar yellow raincoat.

Seven gently pulled Six out from under the shelf and looked over her, incredibly worried. She was so cold that her fingertips and toes had begun to turn blue.

Six looked up at Seven. Her Seven. Maybe she was just delerious, but in the dim light creeping in through the open door, he looked like a fairytale hero. Did she even remember what a fairytale was? It didn't matter.

Seven sighed worriedly. "You really need to stop getting yourself into trouble like this..."

Being as gentle as he could, Seven managed to pick up Six. He knew he wouldn't be able to carry her in the vents, but that was okay. He had a plan.

Fortunately, the kitchen was mostly empty now, so Seven had absolutely nothing to fear as he carried Six across the kitchen and to the pantry.


	21. The Sleeper

Seven managed to carry Six to the large pantry he'd found earlier. He'd decided this option was safer than letting her struggle through the vents. She could barely keep her eyes open, and Seven was so scared for her. Once he was sure she was safe, Seven gently set her down on the floor, so that her back was leaning against the wall.

"Sev..." Six mumbled weakly.

"I'm here, Six." He gently brushed her long bangs out of her deep brown eyes. "I'm right here, okay? I'll take care of you. Did you find something to eat?"

Six nodded slightly, remembering the meat she'd gnawed on in the cold room.

"Good. There's bread and vegetables and stuff here, so... at least we know where to get food from now."

Six again nodded.

"I think we'll be safe here," Seven told her. "The whole time I was watching the chefs, they never even looked in here."

"Okay..." Six mumbled. In all honesty, she was too cold and sleepy to even care.

Seven gently kissed her forehead. "You should get some sleep. You look exhausted."

Sighing quietly, Six curled up, laying her head on Seven's lap.

Seven gently pushed Six's hood off her head and absentmindedly began to play with her hair. He felt so incredibly relieved that she was safe. He didn't know what he'd do if anything ever happened to her. The words of the promise they'd made, it felt like so long ago, rang in his head.

_Together or not at all._

He knew, somewhere in his heart, that he couldn't bear to lose Six. She was much too important to him. He needed to protect her, however he could. If he lost her, he felt that he would never leave The Maw. He wouldn't want to. Not without her.

~

As Six slept, dreams rose up like dark smoke, coiling in from the back of her mind. Dark whispers of danger and deceit. Warnings that she did not, could not, understand. 

_Hush, child,_ came the voice that wasn't hers. _Ignore the worthless words of your fears. They are useless and meaningless. You must trust me, not them. I will get you off of this ship._

"How do I know I can trust you?" Six questioned.

 _I am part of you,_ the voice countered. _I would never betray you._

"...but you don't like Seven."

_The boy does not serve my purpose. My only goal is getting off of this ship. He is of no use to me."_

"He saved my life today!"

_Your life is inconsequential to me. I still have my Elder host. Should you die, I will simply return this part of myself to her and choose a new heir._

"...heir?"

_Yes. Someone to inherit my bond. My power. Currently, my choice is you. However, I can choose another if I must._

"What are you?"

_It is not your place to know, child. I am greater than you, or any living being. I am more dangerous than you will ever know. You must never speak of me._

"And why not?" She huffed.

_Simply because no one else will understand. I do not exist, but I am real. You cannot stop me._

~

Seven watched over Six as she slept. She seemed okay for now, but he decided that if anything seemed wrong, he'd have to wake her. But for now, he just let his fingers run through her soft hair. He began to hum quietly. In spite of the perils of today, this felt... nice. It was good to have Six close. She looked so adorable, curled up and deeply asleep. Part of Seven wished things could be like this all the time.

 _But they can't,_ he told himself. _Especially if we ever want to get out of here. Getting out means putting ourselves in danger._

For a moment, he let himself wonder if it was worth it. He and Six could be happy in their shaft. He could steal food from here and keep her out of danger forever.

 _And she'd be so bored,_ he concluded. _Besides, I think Six is right about something being wrong with this place. There's so much danger here... are we ever really safe?_

Seven decided he didn't want to know the answer. He told himself it wasn't important, but the truth was that he knew the answer, whatever answer he came to, would likely be one he wouldn't like.

"I'll get you out of here, Six," he whispered softly to the sleeping girl. "I promise. Whatever it takes, I will get you out of this place."

Six, still asleep, didn't answer, and Seven could only imagine what might have been going on in her mind. She didn't appear to be having any nightmares, so hopefully that meant her dreams were pleasant.

Seven's mind began to wander. He wondered what had happened to the Nomes, and why they'd stopped coming to visit. He wondered why this place was so terrible, and how Six seemed to know that so well. He wondered why he and Six were always getting into trouble, and why they couldn't just have a peaceful life. Especially Six. She was always getting into trouble and scaring him. He wondered if it was fate. Was there even such a thing?

Questions and questions. So many questions and no answers. Seven felt himself slipping away, and so he let his thoughts wander until he'd drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

The two children laid in the abandoned pantry, and for a while, everything seemed right with the world. They were safe, for now, and sheltered. Though this peace would not last, it seemed for a while that they were simply that. Just children. Just two children sleeping together. Their lives weren't in peril. They weren't fighting for survival. Nothing could harm them. This was a wishful thought, but still a sweet one.

And for a while, even if it was only a few hours, everything seemed alright. Everything was just fine.


End file.
